Dangerous Secret
by SapphireGirl93
Summary: A secret that Megamind decides to keep in his days of being Metro City's most feared villain comes back to haunt him when he becomes a hero.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first ever fan fic! I've never even considered writing a fan fic before, but then Megamind came along, and… well, I guess for the first time ever I turned into a squealing fan girl, a soft-headed-groupie, you know the drill. ;) Wow, I'm such a nerd… can't believe the effect this movie has on me! Anyway this story starts out about 6 months pre-movie, then moves to about 6 months post-movie in chapter two and continues on from there. Hope everyone enjoys it… I'm having a bunch of fun writing it! Reviews would be fantastic, but remember… this is my first fic, so please be nice! ****By the way, I don't own Megamind, Dreamworks does (so sad!). **

"This is Roxanne Ritchi, reporting from the corner of 278th Avenue and Fox Hill Road in downtown Metro City. I'm here at the scene of a robbery which has taken place at Mom and Pop's Corner Market, a much loved family owned icon in this part of town for over three generations. Witnesses state that at about 10: 20 this morning, the store was robbed and vandalized extensively in full view of the patrons that frequent this popular spot. A nominal amount of money from the store's cash register was stolen, along with cash from the wallets and purses of those present in the store at the time.

"There are unconfirmed reports that the witnesses believe the perpetrator to be Megamind, Metro City's own resident super villain, acting on his own without assistance from his well known side kick, Minion. This particular crime would seem to be quite a deviation from Megamind's usual M.O., for which he is well know in Metro City, and consists of regular showy attempts to destroy Metro Man, Metro City's own beloved super hero.

"Details are very sketchy at this point, as the stories of many of the witnesses don't coincide with one another. The patrons that were present at the time of the robbery seem particularly confused, and are giving inconsistent accounts of how the crime went down. There are at this time no reports of any serious injuries. No statement concerning this crime or the possible involvement of Megamind has been made by the Metro City PD; but as always, KMCP News will continue to closely monitor the situation, and report any new developments as details are released. "

When Roxanne was given the ok from Hal, her creepy and socially backward cameraman, she turned to take in the scene that surrounded her. Mom and Pop's Corner Market was set in an older part of the city that had begun to be restored and gentrified in the last decade. There were beautiful brick buildings set with lovely millwork, decorative cornices, and intricate moldings, many of them dating back to the late 1800's. There was so much history here. The lives of so many citizens from days gone by were lived out here in these buildings and on these streets; it endeared this part of town to her. Her own great grandfather had walked these streets as a young man in the 1920's when he worked as a reporter for the Metro City Monitor, Metro City's oldest news paper. Roxanne loved this city, her roots here ran deep; but she loved this part of town in particular. It broke her heart to imagine anyone even thinking about damaging such a special place.

She had been shocked at just how terribly damaged The Market was, with shattered windows… the old paneled kind which would be hard to replace, and a badly damaged front door. It looked as though someone tried to kick it down, even though the crime had taken place during business hours, and the perpetrator would have found the door not only unlocked, but propped open on such a lovely and unusually warm November day. Inside, the antique display cases were also shattered, and shelves were pushed over onto the floor. The contents of the shelves were spread everywhere, broken and trampled, and very little of it would be able to be salvaged. In fact, the little shop was so badly damaged, it may be months before it could be re-opened.

It was hard for her to imagine that Megamind was responsible for this. _Yah, ok, he's loud and irritating, and yes, he does tend to make a mess when he's in the middle of one his ridiculous plans, but this… it doesn't even make any sense!_ Why would he just show up and terrorize this tiny little shop for chump change, tear the place up, and then leave without playing so much as a single AC/DC song, or sending out one challenge for Metro Man to try and stop him. That would be completely slumming it for the Megamind she knew. He was all about shock value, loudly capturing the attention of the "mindless drones", and presentation; something like this was way beneath him.

And what about her? _I thought I was his 'victim of choice'_, _he didn't even bother to show up and kidnap me for this one. What's going on with you, Megamind?_ This wasn't the first time he pulled off a plan without her, it had happened a few other times in the past couple of months, and each time the crimes were so out of character for him, just like this one was. She surprised herself at how disappointed she felt at being left out of Megamind's latest plan. She quickly pushed those feelings aside_. That's ridiculous!_

Then there were the witnesses, eleven people were in the store when it happened, and none of their stories matched up at all. They all said such strange things, really pretty scary things. One of them was even saying something completely crazy about the "fog in the store". _What fog, it was clear this morning, and in the store? Weird._ Roxanne supposed it could be that fog machine he used sometimes, but wasn't that the brainbots' job to take care of that for him? All of the witnesses had said that there were no brainbots present at the time. The only other thing that they all agreed on was that Megamind was the one that pulled the whole thing off, without Minion, too. _Why wouldn't Minion be there? _

It almost seemed as though those people were drugged; their speech was slightly sluggish and their eyes a bit glassy. No one but her seemed to notice any of these inconsistencies. The police were buying every word of it, of coarse they would… why would they doubt a story about Megamind attacking the random, innocent citizens of Metro City, especially when there were so many witnesses? And if someone said something really strange, like that line about the fog, they just explained it away saying it was a result of shock. The reporter in her was bothered by this, but she had no reason to doubt the word of any of those people. Besides, Megamind was a villain.

As she stood there watching the scene unfold in front of her, she watched as a group of EMT's frantically wheeled out a gurney occupied by the still form of a man, small flecks of red staining part of the blanket covering him, and a large, open gash visible on the left side of his forehead and into his hairline. As they drove away, sirens blaring, she ran over to the nearest police officer, dread rising in her chest.

"Hey, what happened? Is he going to be ok?" she asked.

When the officer turned, a familiar face looked back at her with worried eyes. Chris O'Donnell was a friend that Roxanne had made on the force during her many rounds of kidnappings and being Megamind's star victim. "Oh, hey Roxie. I just don't know what to tell you. That guy is hurt pretty bad. Some of the witnesses say he was assaulted when he tried to stand up to Megamind during the robbery. He took a real beating this morning. Megamind's really going out of his way to play up his evil villain role lately, isn't he?". He shook his head sadly and stood thoughtfully for a moment, reflecting on what had happened. Then as an afterthought he added "Of course, you know everything I'm telling you is off the record. I can't be giving out any info to the press right now."

"Hi, Chris. You know you don't have to worry about that with me. All I'm going to do is report what I see until we get an official statement from Chief Porter. And yah, you're right. It seems that Megamind is doing his best to "strike terror into the populace", and it seems to be working. I really hope that guy will be ok."

"Me too. Hey, I have to get back to work, Roxie. You be careful, Megamind is becoming pretty unpredictable. I'll admit that I'm a little worried about you."

"Ok, Chris. I will. See ya." She said as she watched him turn and move in to direct the crowd of people, who in their curiosity were getting a little too close to the action. _Unpredictable? Since when is Megamind unpredictable? What's going on?_ Her brows were creased with worry, and her blue eyes betrayed the heaviness in her heart. _Stop it, Roxanne! Remember who this is we're talking about here! He's the bad guy, and this is what bad guys do! No surprises here!_

She shook herself to clear the dark thoughts in her head, and scanned the crowd for Hal. Breaking news, and he's nowhere in sight! _You'd think he'd have noticed the ambulance and sirens, they're kinda hard to miss! Why do I always get hooked up with the worst cameramen? He probably ditched me and is off getting a coffee or something! Oh, there he is._

Waving her arms to get his attention above the jostling crowd and noise, she called out, "Hal! Over here! Got another report to make!"

* * *

><p>That night at home, Roxanne couldn't get the strange happenings of the day out of her mind. She was troubled, and actually found herself worrying about Megamind, which was probably the nuttiest thing of all in this completely crazy day. She was also exhausted after a long day of back to back news broadcasts, reporting updates and commenting on new information as it was released. As it turned out, the man that had been rushed to the hospital as she looked on was very seriously hurt, and was still in critical condition at Metro General. She could still feel the empty, sinking feeling she had experienced when that bit of news was released.<p>

The public was concerned to say the least about their famous villain's apparent change in the way he carried out his dastardly doings. This event was the talk of the city, and every station was talking themselves to death about how Megamind seemed to be becoming more and more dangerous and unpredictable. The trouble was, Roxanne still had such a hard time accepting that. No matter how annoying, and obnoxious, and completely self absorbed he was, she just couldn't bring herself to actually see him as truly dangerous. _He's never actually tried to hurt me before, and he's had so many opportunities! I've never really felt threatened with him, in fact I know he'd do everything he could to keep me safe if something went wrong with one of his plans._ But considering what she had seen today, maybe she didn't know him quite as well as she thought she did.

"Wow, Roxanne. Listen to yourself!", she said out loud to the empty apartment. "I just need to step back and relax; get my mind off this mess for a while". She fixed herself a cup of tea, and went in to the living room to flip on the TV and settle down comfortably with a blanket, hoping to find something interesting enough to get her mind off Megamind and the situation at the Market that was dominating her thoughts. Not a single program really caught her attention, so she reluctantly settled for some boring, non-descript reality show. As she watched, her eyes became heavier and heavier, and soon she was drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Miss Ritchi!". Roxanne thought she heard her name being called by a very familiar voice. "Miss Ritchi?". A very familiar and decidedly <em>attractive<em> voice.

" You know, I've come all the way up here. The least you could do is wake up and give a little attention and adoration to your future glorious E-vil Overlord."

"Hmm?" Roxanne slowly opened her eyes, waiting for them to focus in the dim room, and found herself looking into a pair of brilliantly emerald green eyes gazing back at her intently. _This has to be a_ dream,_ because I can't believe how completely hot he is right now! No way I'd let myself think this if I were awake!_

The exhaustion of the day was winning out though, and her eyes began to slide closed again as she wiggled a bit to find the most comfortable spot on her couch to settle into. With a deep breath, she began to drift back to sleep.

"Roxanne!"

With that one word, her eyes sprung open, and all the memories of the previous day came flooding back into her mind. For the first time ever, she found herself slightly uneasy with Megamind as the image of the man on the gurney bounced around in her head.

"What do you want?" she asked with a roll of her blue eyes and as much snarkiness in her voice as she could muster._ I am _not_ going to let him know that I'm a little nervous about him being here right now. "_And how did you get in here?" she demanded. She already knew, of course. He had picked her locks countless times during her frequent kidnappings, and sometimes he would even let himself in just to hang around; she was certain just to get on her nerves. But she was tired and worried, and didn't have it in her to make any of this easy for Megamind, so she was determined to be as difficult as possible.

"Why Miss Ritchi, you're as charming as ever tonight. A welcome fit for devilishly handsome and de-sting-quished company such as myself." he said with a flourish as he raised his brow and gave her a sarcastically smug grin. "Don't forget, my magnificent victory over Metro Mahn is imminent," at this he leaned forward and wagged his finger at her as though she were a naughty child, and raised his voice to a much more theatrical level, "and you ought to make sure you play your cards right, or you will find yourself facing my dreadful wrath when I take my place as ruler of Metrocity!" He straightened, and shrugged his shoulders. "And, I got in the same way I always do… picked the locks on your balcony."

At hearing his little monologue and his brazen and remorseless admission that he broke in to her apartment, Roxanne began to forget her uneasiness and became seriously annoyed. With a huff, she said "Megamind, I'm tired and I had a long, rough day thanks to you and your antics at the Market this morning. Will you just get on with the kidnapping, so we can get this over with and I can get back to sleep!"

As she spoke, the egotistical look on his blue face drained away, and for just a moment he looked genuinely troubled.

"Actually, I'm not here to kidnap you this time." he paused and looked away, hesitant to continue. "I want to talk to you about what happened at the Market this morning."

Any remnants of sleepiness that were still hanging on to Roxanne slipped away, and she sat up as her chest tightened anxiously.

Megamind took a step forward, and looked in her blue eyes. _She has the most amazingly beautiful eyes. _She didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he was moving closer to her, and looked at him expectantly, unconsciously leaning forward as she waited to hear what he had to say.

"Roxanne, I didn't hit that insignificant little market this morning. That wasn't me."

"Wait, what? There were witnesses! Eleven people were in that store, and they all said that you were there; that it was you that did it! Now you're going to stand there and tell me that it wasn't you?" Roxanne could hardly believe what she was hearing. Normally Megamind would proudly and loudly accept the blame for any act of evil he committed. Now he was actually claiming innocence when he was being accused of doing something villainous. Then she thought back to all the little things her "nosey reporter skills" picked up on that didn't seem to add up, that no one else noticed but her. She actually began to find herself wanting to hear more, hoping what he said was true.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you. It wasn't me that robbed that little store this morning. I was with Minion, working on another brilliant plan, and deciding on which one of my new and nefarious devices to use for your next abduction. And no comment on my impending plan, I'm not about to give away all my secrets, no matter how good your nosey reporter skills are" _Or how completely cute you look sitting there all curled up on your couch like that. Man, I would love to… no, focus! _

_"_Besides, think about what happened there today, did that look like my work? Whoever did that was a thug with no finesse. There wasn't even a strain of a single AC/DC or Metallica song to be heard! You've known me for a long time, Roxanne. I take pride in my presentation!"

He was actually beginning to look disgusted as he ranted about the imposter's clumsy exploits that he was taking the blame for. In spite of herself and the gravity of the situation, Roxanne was finding it hard to keep from smiling. _He really can be adorable when he's … hey, stop that! What in the world's wrong with me? Focus, Roxanne! _To get her mind back on the conversation, she allowed herself to relive the memories of that morning, and instantly began to drift to a more serious state of mind.

"Besides, why would I knock over such a piddley little store for pocket change, and then randomly trash the place like an amateur, when I could take down any bank in Metro City without breaking a sweat, and with both hands tied behind my back! Not to mention the Market makes the best doughnuts and lattes in town. Where would I get my caffeine fix if I destroyed the place?" He added quietly, almost to himself.

"Megamind, this is so serious, I don't know what to think. Someone was really hurt today, still in the hospital as a matter of fact! A whole store full of people say it was you, and now you're telling me this! You've said yourself more times than I can count how evil you are, so how am I supposed to believe what you're telling me now?" She was starting to raise her voice in frustration.

Without thinking, he moved to sit down next to her, his cape rustling as he sank to the couch. He leaned toward her slightly and looked at her with a look of earnestness that she had never seen in those gorgeous eyes before, and said "I give you my word, Roxanne. I had nothing to do with what happened at the Market this morning. And despite all the kidnappings and other wicked things I've put you through for the sake of e-vil, I've never lied to you".

She couldn't help shaking her head as she looked at this man who claimed to be so evil and went out of his way to put his dastardly deeds on display for the world, and yet there were rare times that he seemed underneath all the posturing to be one of the most decent and caring people she had ever known. _Why do you have to be so confusing? _After hearing his heart felt admission, she found her doubts about her long time captor beginning to melt away. She wanted to believe him. And he was right; up to this point, he had never actually lied to her. It had always been a kind of unspoken understanding they had with one another. Many times he had dodged a question she would ask him, or changed the subject, or given a pompous and sardonic answer to try and throw her off the trail, leaving her comments unanswered. But actually lying to her was one act of evil he had never taken part in, at least with her, and it surprised her how much the possibility of him lying to her some day made her heart ache.

Although Megamind was the villain, there were times that she felt he was even more trustworthy than Metro Man. Yes, Wayne Scott was the hero and had never let her down, but she had always known that everything he did was for the good of his own name and reputation, where Megamind really believed in what he did… he put his heart into it, even though he was on the wrong side of the law.

"What about those other crimes they say you were responsible for in the past couple of months, the ones I wasn't there for; was that you?" She hoped he'd say no. They were nearly as out of character and randomly destructive as yesterday's, but no one was as viciously and seriously hurt as that man at the Market.

"Roxanne, of coarse that wasn't me. Do you really think I'd even consider pulling off any acts of mayhem without you? You're my star victim, an essential part of my overall villainous plan. Besides, where would the fun be in anything I tried to pull off without you?" he answered gently with a small smile.

As she considered what he had just said, she searched his handsome face. She remembered how just as in the Market robbery, the witnesses in those other crimes had also behaved strangely, and their accounts of what had happened just didn't quite add up. She began to feel like a huge weight was being lifted from her as his words sunk in. One more question popped up in her mind, and she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you telling me this?".

"Because," he answered as he searched her eyes, and took in every detail of this unique and special woman, finally settling on her exquisite lips. "I just think you should know. I don't care what the moronic masses think about me, but I want you to know the truth."

Roxanne's heart was racing as she heard him say these words, not in his typical showman's voice that he always used to impress and terrify a crowd, but softly, and in his real voice which he rarely ever used in front of her. She realized their faces were inches apart, and she could feel his body heat radiating toward her, and his rich warm scent and the faint smell of his leather suit was beginning to make her feel a bit weak. She found herself imagining what it would feel like if his long blue fingers were stroking her cheek and smoothing her hair, and thinking how nice it would be if those expressive lips were to find themselves pressed against her own.

_What am I doing?_ She shook herself and backed away with some effort. Nothing like this had ever happened between them before, although there were times (more than she'd like to admit to herself) when she had surprised herself by thinking of moments like this and thoroughly enjoying it, before quickly pushing the tempting thoughts from her mind. Up to this point, she had successfully hidden the way she felt deep down about her own personal outlaw. She let her eyes drop, and quickly got up, walked a few feet away and then turned to look at him. "I believe you."

"Thank you," he said, his relief evident as he rose from his place on the couch. He stood and regarded her for a moment, then turned to go as his cape swished and billowed behind him.

"Megamind, wait! If you didn't do it, people should know the truth. You have enough of your own problems with the law without taking the blame for someone else's crimes too!" Then she added "You know, I can help you if you'd like."

He slowed when he heard this, and a small smile crossed his lips. His heart skipped a beat as he noticed the concern in her voice that she was trying so hard to hide. He picked up his pace again, and waved a hand nonchalantly in the air. With his voice dripping with exaggerated drama, he replied "Don't bother! I'm the bad guy, remember? The guy they love to hate? Who'd actually believe that I was innocent? And the "law" doesn't concern me in the least! Let's just let this be our little secret. Besides, all this will do is add to my superbly sinister reputation."

He stopped abruptly, and spun toward her with a wicked grin, "By the way, be prepared to be terrified… your doom is near at hand! I'll be back to shung-hia you for this week's e-vil plan... oh, say Thursday morning?"

With a shake of her head, Roxanne rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Yah, sure. Whatever. And it's _shang_hai, with an A, for your information.".

Ignoring her sarcasm, he continued, "And this time, I'd appreciate it if you'd try a little harder to be a proper victim, and scream for me. You know, this week's plan is going to be _particularly_ terrifying."

Roxanne let out an irritated huff and said "Like that's ever going to happen!".

"Mark my words, one of these days I_ will _get you to scream! Until we meet again, Miss Ritchi!" he called, his voice as smooth as silk, and he turned and walked out her balcony door to his waiting hover bike, as Roxanne watched him go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, now it's time to switch gears. The story is moving ahead approximately one year from chapter one, so that means Megamind has about 6 months of being a Hero under his belt. Things progressed just as they did in the movie with the battle of Titan and the museum opening; and yes, Megamind and Roxanne are a couple! This chapter will be pretty fluffy (I just couldn't help myself!). I felt it was important to get a feel for their relationship and interactions with each other, so that's what I'm focusing on here. I'll start moving on to the more serious stuff in chapter 3.**

**Thanks to those of you who reviewed, I'm getting some great tips! I would love your feedback; praise and adulation along with the constructive criticism are all appreciated, but please remember to be gentle, I'm very new at this!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

"Oh man, I'm so glad this day's over!" Roxanne thought to herself as she drove down the empty street in a section of the city which was rarely used. All around her were huge, empty warehouses and industrial buildings that looked from the outside as though they hadn't been used in years. The pavement on the street was fractured and worn, and weeds grew from choked storm drains and cracks in the sidewalk.

To anyone who just happened upon this part of the city, it would look as though the place had been abandoned and forgotten years ago. No one could possibly know from the outside that these buildings were filled with laboratories, chambers, secret passageways, and storage rooms packed with mind boggling inventions, all belonging to Metro City's newest hero.

Roxanne turned the corner and abruptly came to a building with a high, graffitied brick wall in a lonely cul-de-sac. Without slowing down she drove right through the wall, and with a quick flash of light, found herself in her favorite place in the world.

All around her were intimidating looking devices; hanging from rafters, laying on storage shelves that lined the walls, or sitting in corners waiting to be rediscovered by their creator. In the dim light she could see various objects sitting covered by clear plastic tarps, which floated lazily in a hidden draft.

The smells of oil, hot wires, a multitude of chemicals, and dust, along with other less identifiable scents, mingled in the air with the musty smell of the old building. Those scents brought back pleasant memories of her father's shop, where he had worked on classic cars as a hobby when she was a child.

As Roxanne parked her car and climbed out, she had to smile at the thought that the whole city had once cowered at Megamind and his spikey, vicious looking gadgets. Back then, no one could have guessed what an amazingly gentle and caring person he really was, or what a courageous and selfless hero he would turn out to be. It still astounded her how much he had been willing to sacrifice for her, and for the city she loved.

"Megamind? I'm back!" she called as she walked down the corridor toward his lab, her heels clacking on the concrete floor as she went along. She wondered what her favorite man in the world had been up to all day.

* * *

><p>"She's here Minion! Quick, put this away!" Megamind said excitedly as Roxanne's voice floated down the long hallway toward them.<p>

He thrust the soldering gun in Minion's hand and tore the safety goggles from his head as he bolted to the other end of the lab. He went to a dark space in the corner to the right of the door and positioned himself behind a rack filled with large scraps of metal. Minion watched him with a slightly bewildered expression as he stood there smiling and biting his lip, looking like a child about to play a trick on a friend from school.

Just as Megamind found his hiding place, Roxanne walked into the lab with a happy sigh. The first thing that she noticed was Minion standing there alone, holding a soldering gun in each hand, and looking at her with a deer in headlights kind of expression. _Something's up._

"Hi Minion! How was your day today?" she asked, trying to pretend she didn't notice the slightly flustered look on his fishy face as he quickly put the soldering guns on the table.

"Um… oh, hi Miss Ritchi! Glad you're back! We had a great day… got quite a bit done in the lab."

"Good! So, where is he?" she asked with a raised brow and slightly crooked smile.

Minion could see Megamind raise his finger to his lips in a "shh" sign. The grin on his face was positively wicked as he crept up slowly behind her.

"Oh, he um, just went to the tool room to grab his calipers. He should be back in a minute. Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you Minion, I… ah!" Roxanne nearly jumped to the ceiling as she felt someone dig their fingers in her sides, and give an evil "Mwaahahaha!" in her ear.

She spun around to see her handsome, and at times very irritating boyfriend laughing happily at her reaction to his sneak attack. With the back of her hand she playfully smacked him on the chest right in the middle of his big blue lightning bolt. "Aghh… Megamind! What are you doing?"

"Trying to scare you, and judging by your reaction I think it worked!" he answered as he laughed hard enough to make him almost double over. "But I don't think it worked well enough, I was hoping to get a scream out of you this time."

"Well good luck with that! I've told you about a million times that's not going to happen." she replied, trying her best to sound annoyed, although it was _so _difficult when he laughed like that. He was just too cute!

"No? Hmm, maybe it's time for me to move to plan B."

Before Roxanne had time to react, he whipped his arms out and grabbed her gently but firmly around the wrists, and began walking her backwards until she found herself in a corner where two storage shelves intersected. He positioned himself so she was penned in, and with one hand around her waste to hold her he began working along her collar bone with the long fingers of his free hand until she began to squeal.

"Ahh… no! Stop it!" She giggled and screeched as she tried to find an opening she could use to escape.

"Well now, that's a little better, Miss Ritchi. But I think you can do better than that. Maybe I need to step it up a notch? Yes… I think it might be time for the 'typewriter'!"

He pulled back just far enough for him to put his hands directly in front of her where she could see them, and then began dramatically flexing his fingers and slowly moving in toward her sides with that old villainous gleam in his eyes.

When she heard what he had planned, she frantically began to put her hands up to try and block his, knowing what was coming. She squealed through her laughter, "Megamind, no! Please not the typewriter! God, I hate that! Stop!"

He was thoroughly enjoying this. _Man, it's fun to make her squirm like this!_ He suddenly shot his hands through her attempts at blocking him, and attacked her sides with his fingertips, moving them up and down and working them rapidly as though he was typing on a keyboard. As soon as he made contact with her sides, her laughter rose to a scream, and she twisted and squirmed and clutched at his hands, making every attempt to get away.

Their laughter echoed through the huge room, and the ruckus drew the attention of the brainbots, who came rushing in, ready to fight if need be. When they saw Daddy playing with Miss Ritchi, they let their guard down and simply hovered nearby to observe their strange behavior. They'd seen this sort of thing before, Daddy always acted _so_ peculiar when Miss Ritchi was around.

Finally, Megamind decided that she'd had enough. He took his hands from her sides and slid them around her back and watched her with a smile as she caught her breath. "I missed you today."

"Nice way to show it; that was very evil of you!" she teased. "You know how much I hate being tickled, _especially_ the typewriter!"

"It wasn't e-vil... I gave that up, remember? I was teasing you because I love you. Besides," he lowered his voice and leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially in her ear. "I got you to scream!"

When she heard his low, silky voice so close to her ear a thrill passed through her, and with a tiny shiver she put her arms around his shoulders and gazed into the green eyes that she loved so much. "Megamind, you are _such_ a cheater! Tickling me doesn't count, and you know it!"

"Well no matter what you say, it still worked. Anyway, it's just a matter of time before I _scare_ a scream out of you!" He leaned his head forward and rested it on hers, and began to nuzzle her cheek with his nose. " I did miss you today, Roxanne."

She let out a small giggle and snuggled herself closer to him as she buried her face into the crook of his neck. "I missed you too".

They pulled back just enough to look into each other's eyes, and then pressed their lips together in a deep, longing kiss. The room was quiet as they held and caressed each other, savoring every moment of being in each other's arms after the long and busy day away.

Roxanne felt that she just couldn't get close enough to him. As she felt his lips, so strong and soft against hers; and as she felt his arms wrap more tightly around her, and his hands gently stroking the small of her back and traveling up between her shoulder blades to draw her in, she felt the fire beginning to build. She tingled everywhere his hands touched, and that tingling was very quickly moving to some very exciting places.

Just as their kisses were really beginning to intensify and their caresses were escalating into serious groping, they heard a loud clatter of metal. Being so engrossed in each other, the loud noise startled them both, and they separated with a jump and looked across the room to find Minion standing there, looking very uncomfortable, and a multitude of brain bots gathered around, taking in the show.

"MINION!" Megamind exclaimed in exasperation.

" Oops, sorry. Hehe… Dropped the wrench." Minion said awkwardly as he moved to the other side of the work table to pick it up. "Um, Sir, Miss Ritchi might be hungry after her busy day, don't you think we should go into the kitchen and eat?"

Megamind just stood there and gave Minion an irate glare for interrupting his welcome for Roxanne. Why on earth would he pick this exact moment to be concerned about food?

Roxanne realized that if she didn't step in, her blue boyfriend's temper was going to blow, so she decided to answer for him in an attempt to spare her fishy friend's tender feelings. "Yes! Actually, I'm starving Minion! I haven't eaten since breakfast. Lets go get some dinner."

She took Megamind's hand and pulled him along, guiding him down the hall toward the kitchen. As they walked together, she glanced over at him and wasn't surprised to see him scowling at Minion as he trudged along ahead of them, giving orders to the remaining brainbots to clean up the mess in the laboratory and put away the tools.

"What's wrong?" she asked, trying as hard as she could to hide an amused smirk.

"He did that on purpose." he huffed with an exaggerated frown.

"Did what on purpose?" she queried as she fought with herself to keep hold of the laughter that threatened to burst out at any moment.

"The wrench! That was _not _an accident! How could he have dropped it there when he was standing on the opposite side of the table? And it hit awfully hard for it to have made so much noise when it hit the ground. I _know_ he threw it!" he ranted as he threw his arms into the air, doing his very best to throw a convincing tantrum. "Haven't you ever noticed that every time we're giving each other attention and Minion is anywhere nearby, something like that happens? _Every time!" _

Roxanne couldn't help it anymore, and she launched into a fit of laughter that made her sides ache. She put her arms around his waist and snuggled closer to him as they walked along. "Oh Megs, I love the way you make me laugh!"

"Well I'm glad you're having fun, but I'm genuinely irritated right now. I mean it Roxanne, he does this every time!" he fumed, doing his best to display his frustration, but finding it very hard to continue being angry with his friend when Roxanne was clinging to him so closely, and her laughter bubbled so sweetly in his ear.

"Ok. Well, put yourself in his place. Don't you think he feels more than a little awkward being in the same room with us when we get carried away and start in on a make out session? I can't blame him."

"He could just leave." he huffed.

"Yah, I'll give you that, he could just go somewhere else. But there have been a few times when something like this has happened, and he couldn't leave. Like the time we were doing surveillance on those car thieves in the invisible car?"

"Oh yah," the irritation on his face began to soften, and was replaced by a slightly dreamy expression as the memory of that evening flooded his oversized brain. "That was fun," he said with a chuckle.

"Alright, so no more being upset with Minion. And you know, we really should be more careful about this. Poor guy! I can't help but feel a little bad for embarrassing him like that."

"Yes, but no promises. You're just too good at being a temptress!" he said smoothly with a leering grin.

Roxanne had to laugh at his sweet expressiveness. _You're pretty tempting yourself!_

"You know, we can always pick up where we left off a little later." she said with a crooked smile as she looked at him through her lashes.

She nudged him a bit and giggled when he looked at her with an eager expression and said "Hmm… I like the sound of that!"

* * *

><p>The small apartment that the trio called home was tucked away in the back of the lair, facing the lakefront. Because of the lifestyle Megamind and Minion had lived in their infamous days of terrorizing the citizens of Metro City, they had given very little thought to making it a comfortable place to live, particularly considering that so much of Megamind's time was spent in prison. It had always been more of a place to crash between evil plans.<p>

When Roxanne moved in however, the little apartment went through quite a transformation. A large bank of windows looked out onto the water, and once they had been cleaned, offered a beautiful view of the lake. With the help of the De-Gun, much of her furniture had been moved to the lair, including her couch and bedroom set. For the first time in Megamind's life, he actually felt that he had a real home.

When she had first moved into the lair, they decided that they would all take turns preparing the evening meals, but before long Minion and Roxanne took over most of Megamind's turns. Not that his cooking was bad, but variety was not something that seemed to be a part of his considerable vocabulary when it came to his culinary skills. He typically only wanted to prepare dishes that were his personal favorites, but the trouble was that he was a rather picky eater. Growing up eating prison chow had given him a bad impression of too many foods, which in turn limited his interest in cooking to just a handful of meals. To his credit, he had always tried to be thoughtful to Minion over the years, and ate most of the foods he prepaired for him without complaint whether he liked them or not.

For dinner that night, Minion made a simple meal of spaghetti and a salad, which was a favorite of both Megamind and Roxanne. As they sat companionably at the table with a bottle of wine and finished their meal, they happily discussed the events of their day.

"How did the coverage of the Fall Festival go? I wanted to watch the broadcast, but I got so wrapped up in what I was doing, I lost track of time and missed it." Megamind queried. Fall Festival was Metro City's kick off to the holiday season, always landing on the weekend before Thanksgiving.

"Oh, it was wet and windy, and really hard to pretend that I didn't want to be anywhere else but there. Especially when the parade started. I had to stand there with an umbrella, trying not to look like I was getting soaked and freezing to death."

"Oh, that's too bad. You look forward to this every year, too." Minion put in. He thought back to the way they always had a particularly special abduction ready for her on Festival weekend, and how upset she had always been when they made her miss one of her favorite days. He couldn't help but feel a little bad about that, but it was all in the past, and she had forgiven them both whole heartedly.

"I know, but this time it was kind of hard to have fun standing in the middle of a rain storm. I would much rather have been here with you two." she said, reaching out with a smile to take Megamind's hand. "So how did it go for you today? Did you get called out for any rescues?"

"No, things were pretty quiet. We just stayed in the lab and worked on the new setting for the De-Gun. I'm pretty close to having the bugs worked out of it. It should be ready for me to give it it's second round of tests by tomorrow."

"That's right! De-ep Freeze, right?"

"Umhmm, I thought it may come in handy some day... you never know."

"Important to be prepared!" She put in with a grin. The things he came up with boggled her mind, and his intellect and imagination astounded her. He was the most amazingly creative person she had ever known, and that was one of the many things that she had always loved so much about him, even in his days of villainy.

"Well, I think It's time we start getting things cleaned up." Minion announced cheerfully as he stood and began collecting the dishes from the table.

"Minion, I would normally give you a hand, but I'm a little tired. If you don't mind I think I'll just go to bed." replied Roxanne as she made eye contact with Megamind and gave him a suggestive wink.

"Oh! You know, me too." At this he gave a loud and exaggerated yawn and stood up with a huge stretch. "I think I'm just going to head off to bed too. Sorry Minion, I'll give you a hand with the clean up next time, ok?" He called back as he put his arm around Roxanne and they headed off down the hall together.

Minion just rolled his eyes at their obvious cover up, he knew _exactly_ what was going on. Annoyed though he was at the fact that he was left once again with the bulk of the mess to take care of, he couldn't help smiling at the couple as he watched them cling to one another while they walked down the hallway. The sound of their laughter warmed his heart, and a smile crept across his fishy lips at the thought that his best friend whom he loved like a brother was finally so happy with the woman he had loved for so many years. Under these circumstances, he didn't mind being left to clean up on his own.

"Brainbots, help me clean this up." he called out with a smile to the small group of bots that always hovered nearby, ready to help at a moments notice.

* * *

><p>As soon as Megamind and Roxanne entered their bedroom and closed the door, Roxanne grabbed hold of her handsome sweetheart and began smothering him with deep, hungry kisses. Her hands roved all around his body, exploring every inch of his lithe frame as her leg lifted to wrap itself around his thighs. Her longing for him was so strong, she felt the only way she could get close enough to him was if she somehow found a way crawl inside his lovely blue skin.<p>

Megamind instantly responded in kind, wrapping one arm around her upper back and into her hair, while the other held and caressed her curvey bottom. He kissed her with a passion so intense, it felt as though he hadn't seen her in weeks. When his lips traveled down her neck to her collarbone to explore her perfect skin, he could feel a small shiver pass through her, and he heard her sharp intake of breath. He knew the intense effect he had on her too well, and he loved to intensify that effect by moving slowly and deliberately, fanning that always smoldering passion into a roaring flame. _God, Roxanne! I don't know how I ever lived without you!_

"Mmmm… Baby, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this all day!" Roxanne breathed when he pulled away for a moment to begin unbuttoning her blouse. She trembled deliciously as she felt his gentle hands caress the skin on her chest, and his lips softly press against her. It took all of her considerable self control not to throw him onto the bed and begin tearing that gloriously tight leather suit off him right then and there. She let out a little moan of delight as he undid the last button and reached up to slide a bra strap from her shoulder, kissing the skin he found hidden underneath.

"Me too," he answered tenderly between kisses. Holding her in his arms and knowing she wanted him as much as he wanted her was intoxicating, and he was even finding it hard to breath as her soft, silky body pressed against his. "It was hard to concentrate on what I was doing today, all I could think about was you. You're distracting even when you're not here."

The sultry purr in his voice and the look of pure love in his emerald eyes made her heart pound, and she attacked him with kisses so filled with passion, it took both of their breath away.

She undid the zipper on the back of his leather suit and pulled his top off to expose his smooth skin, and ran her hands across his shoulders and chest. With skilled fingers he reached up to undo the clasp to her bra as they hungrily explored each others mouths, and pressed against one another with bare skin. Just at that moment, they heard a jingling coming from somewhere very nearby. In their distracted state, it took a moment for it to register that what they were hearing was Megamind's emergency phone, the link between Metro City PD, and their new hero in times of necessity.

"No!" Roxanne huffed as Megamind broke their embrace to answer the call.

"Ollo?" he answered slightly breathlessly, his voice still husky with passion.

As he tried to focus his attention on the call, Roxanne lightly stroked her fingertips along his chest, and planted light kisses along his jaw and goatee. She held out the hope that this call was nothing more than a check in, and in that event she wanted to keep things smoldering. With her teasing touches, he was finding it intensely difficult to concentrate on the voice at the other end of the line. With a seductive smile and a raised eyebrow, he mouthed the word "Temptress!"

Roxanne stifled a giggle and continued her attentions in earnest.

"Sir, this is Chris O'Donnell with the MCPD. I'm terribly sorry to bother you at this hour, but we have a situation going down that needs your attention."

Megamind let out an exasperated sigh and with a roll of his eyes reluctantly said "Ok, where?"

As he ended the call, he reached out to take his very disappointed girlfriend into his arms and give her a reassuring kiss. "We just can't get a break today, can we?"

"It's ok, you know I understand." she said gently as she looked up at him. Then she couldn't help but pout a little, "But times like this, I almost wish you didn't have to be the hero." Although she sometimes teased him with this, he knew she didn't really mean it. Roxanne loved the fact that he was her very own personal hero, and knowing the risks he took to keep others safe made her so proud of him. The fact that in the beginning, he became the hero for no other reason than because of his love for her melted her inside, and made her love him all the more.

"I know sweetheart. I'm sorry. Listen, I promise that when I get back, we'll pick this up where we left off, ok?" he said lovingly as he dressed. He sometimes felt a bit guilty that he had to live at the beck and call of that little phone, and that it seemed to interfere more often than it should with his time with Roxanne.

"That sounds awfully familiar. I think we've already heard that once tonight!" responed Roxanne as she rebuttoned her shirt and smoothed her rumpled hair.

"I promise" he asserted with a smile. He took her in his arms to give her a hug as he planted one last kiss on her lovely lips before he walked out the door.

"I love you," she called with a smile, watching him walk down the hallway to find Minion. "please be careful."

"Sweetie, you know I will. I love you too." he answered gently as he turned back for a moment to give her a small wave. Then he turned the corner, and was out of sight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, things are going to start getting pretty dicey now. Just a little heads up, there's some drug use involved in part of this chapter, so if that makes you uncomfortable, you can just skip that part. You'll see it coming, then just skip down to where Megs and Minion come in.**

**Thank you to my sweet friend and Beta Reader Nora Salisbury, you're the best! :) **

**To everyone else, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it! By the way, I love your reviews… they make me smile! **

The evening was very wet; rain pummeled the streets and houses in the run down neighborhood with out mercy. Although it wasn't particularly cold, the lashing wind tore through the darkness, making the lonely figures that walked the sidewalks clutch at their coats to stay warm. The last of the autumn leaves that clung to the trees had been blown away during the day's storm, and now the branches were left empty as they bent and shook in the wind.

This was the seediest neighborhood in Metro City. The homes that lined these streets were in advanced stages of disrepair, with sagging roof lines and porches, and peeling paint. Trash was scattered along curbs and against fences, and whipped through the air on the wind.

The residents who lived here were as sleazy as their environment. The streets were crawling with ruthless dealers and violent gangs, and even the police tended to hang back from this area. In the past, an incident in this part of town always warranted a call for Metro Man's help, but now the Metro City PD turned to Megamind, who was always ready to step in and heroically lend his assistance when needed.

One particular house on this block was notorious for the shady class of people who stayed there. The two story building was by far the most run down residence on this shabby stretch of road, with boarded up windows, and graffiti covering walls that had once been painted white. Even the nastiest inhabitants of this threatening neighborhood tended to avoid this place.

Inside, things looked even worse than they did from the outside. Garbage was piled in corners and closets, and the smell of it filled the house. The walls were covered with holes where the plaster had crumbled, or a hole had been knocked clear through by the destructive behavior of the people that lived there.

There was very little furniture in this house, most of it consisting of mattresses that had been dumped on the floor in various places. Each one was filthy and ripped with the stuffing popping out of the tears; and a couple of them were occupied by the sleeping forms of people.

In a back room lit by only a single dim bulb, Colby Kessler sat in a broken down folding chair, using a large cardboard box with a piece of plywood over the top as a makeshift table. He was one of the city's worst dealers, and well known to the MCPD, who had a file on him as thick as a good sized novel. Although he had been arrested more times than he could remember for crimes ranging from dealing illegal drugs to attempted murder, the police had never been able to find enough evidence to hold him. The charges were always dropped, and he would be back on the streets in less than a week.

Colby was in his late twenties, but because of the drugs he pumped into his body on a daily basis and the hard, violent lifestyle he had lived since he was in his early teens as a runaway, he could have passed for a man in his late forties. His pocked, lined face framed hard eyes and a mouth filled with rotting teeth. He had long ago stopped caring about his ruined looks; he could get anything he wanted from the kind of women he knew by dangling drugs in front of them, regardless of his appearance.

As Colby sat at his cardboard box, he impatiently watched the minutes tick by on the alarm clock that sat on the windowsill. The man he was waiting for was very late, which made him nervous. He had tried for months to get in contact with him to arrange a meeting, but he had been almost impossible to track down.

No one seemed to have any information about him at all, not his name, what he looked like, where to find him… anything. There were only rumors that he had a new drug that people were desperate to get their hands on, and that he was a very dangerous character. Most people were too afraid to go into business with him, and any information that may be out there about him was kept completely quiet out of fear. So quiet, not even the police knew about him.

But Colby was different than the other thugs in town, he had a vision for his future. He had followed every trail he could find searching for this elusive man, and his efforts were finally about to pay off. If the rumor was true and he could just get things worked out with this guy, he'd be making more money than he'd ever imagined, and he could finally pull himself out of this dump that he stayed in.

His nervousness was beginning to intensify as the time passed, and he twitched his foot as he sat glancing every few minutes at the door. His uneasiness was increased by the sound of the wind howling outside the house and the rain beating against the boarded up windows. The one thing that gave him a little comfort was the gun that he wore hidden at his side. He looked around, wondering if he should just give up for the night. _No one is going to show up hours late like this, he's obviously not coming. _He let his eyes wander around the dim room as he considered this.

In the far corner of the room on the only broken down couch in the house, a woman of about twenty lay sleeping. She was his current "girlfriend", who was actually nothing more than another girl that offered herself in exchange for the drugs he was never in short supply of. Now would be a perfect time to take advantage of those _benefits_ she offered him, so he rose from his folding chair and began to cross the room to where she slept.

As he walked, he felt a prickle at the back of his neck and for a moment he caught a slight odor on the air that was new to him… bitter and sharp. Some instinct made him briefly glance toward the door without even realizing he what he was doing. At first, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, it was the same cracked wall with the same old sheet hanging in the doorway as always. Just as he was about to look away, he thought he caught a glimpse of two small pinpoints of dull reddish light in the dark corner, at about eye level. _What the hell?_

He froze and squinted his eyes to try to focus in the dull light. He thought that perhaps he might be seeing things, and wondered if it was an annoying side effect of his drug use. But this was different; he not only saw something strange, but he could _feel _that he wasn't alone. It was the same feeling he would get when he could sense that someone had walked into the room, even though he had his back facing the door.

His heart was thundering in his chest, and he could hear the rush of blood in his ears. As he stared hard at the corner, his eyes began to register the form of a man standing there, still and menacing.

"Is that how you always treat guests?" a dry, whispery voice inquired.

When Colby heard this, he almost jumped out of his skin. "How'd you get in here?"

"I'm a man of … bizarre talents. Now, what is it you want? This had better be worth my time. Venturing out in a storm like this isn't something I would normally do, and it puts me in a bad mood."

The creaky voice as it scraped out the barely veiled threat made Colby's skin crawl. His breath was coming in ragged gasps, and his heart continued to hammer beneath his ribs. _Remember what you're trying to do here, Colby. Keep it together!_

As he tried to get a handle on his fear, the man stepped out of the shadowy corner where Colby could get a better look at just who he was dealing with. He was tall and very thin, and of an indeterminate age. His skin had a sickly color and was drawn tightly over his face. Longish, greasy hair hung limply around his head, and was mostly concealed by a shabby wide brimmed hat. His eyes no longer seemed to have the reflective reddish glow, but they were surrounded by deep gray circles and had a dull and lifeless look to them.

Panic began to rise in Colby's chest as he watched the strange man step nearer, and he couldn't stop himself from backing away a little. He caught himself looking toward the door wondering if he could make a dash for it past the creeper if he had to. When he realized that wouldn't work, he cast his fearful gaze toward the window, wondering if he would have enough time to pull the loose boards away and jump for it in a pinch.

"Well?" the empty voice croaked, with a hint of danger that made Colby's blood run cold.

Colby cleared his throat and tried his best to swallow his fear. He didn't want to look like he was easily spooked or couldn't handle himself. After all, first impressions were everything. He straightened himself and walked toward his makeshift desk, reluctant to turn his back on his eerie guest.

As he sank into his seat, he indicated another folding chair. "Sit down."

Even the way this man walked was creepy as he moved across the room to take the proffered chair. His movements were slippery and fluid, more of a glide than a walk. Colby felt cold fingers travel up and down his spine as he watched him move.

"Let's just get down to business." Colby stated when his guest was seated, trying to keep his voice steady. "Word is you've got something new out on the street, and I want to sell it"

"Really?" the strange man sneered. "You know, you're not the first person to come to me with an offer like this; but I do have to say finding someone who wants to go into business with me is… rare. And a bit impressive, it takes a lot of guts to deal with me. Or a lack of brains; which is it with you?"

Every thing about him unnerved Colby, and he was growing so agitated it was becoming difficult to think. He didn't know how to respond to this question, and he was angry with himself for behaving this way. He looked weak, and that's the last thing he wanted to do when he was trying to work a deal with the one person who could actually be his ticket to the nicer things in life that he had once only been able to dream about.

"No comment? Oh, that's ok, I think I already know the answer. So, I assume you want to sample my goods."

"I never use when I'm in the middle of a deal, I want to keep my head clear. But I've got my little guinea pig over there, we'll let her try."

"Hmm, that's surprisingly wise." The stranger reached into the pocket of his fur lined jacket and pulled out a small package, then tossed it on the table.

"If we're going to work together, I want to know your name." Colby said.

"Ah, ah, ah. That's a piece of information I keep to myself. If we need to be in contact, I'll find you. Hunting people down is another one of my little talents"

These words sounded like another threat to Colby, and his chest tightened as he saw the way the man stared unblinkingly at him. The thought of working with this person was beginning to sound like less and less of a good idea, but he snatched up the package and walked across the room to where the girl slept, glad to be able to put some distance between himself and his new associate.

When he reached her, he grabbed her arm and yanked her to a sitting position. "Wake up. I've got something for you."

"What?" She was groggy from being rudely awaken, and looked around in a daze.

"Stick it under her tongue." The man instructed.

At the sound of the quiet, groaning voice, the girl immediately tensed. Her eyes snapped to the chair where the stranger sat, and as she saw the figure sitting there, a rush of fear passed through her. She gripped at Colby's hand and shrank back into the old couch.

"Try this" Colby demanded. He took the tiny tablet out of the wrapper, and grabbed her face, squeezing until she had no choice but to open her mouth, and popped it under her tongue.

The instant the tablet was in her mouth, her eyes widened, and every muscle in her body went from tense to rigid. As the drug was absorbed into her system, she began to tremble and let out a wailing cry. Her arms began to flail about, and she caught hold of Colby's shirt, pulling and tearing.

In all of Colby's years of dealing, he had seen some strange and terrible things. He had grown so used to the violence of the world he chose to live in, it didn't even phase him anymore, but for some reason there was something about what he was seeing right now that froze his blood.

He tore himself away from her grip, and took a few steps back to watch as she continued to loose control. Her whimpering rose in volume until she was belting out a piercing scream, waking the other occupants in the house. Her wide eyes opened further than Colby thought possible, and she began glancing around as though she was watching something moving around her, although there was nothing there. Unintelligible words tumbled from her as she screamed.

As he watched all of this unfold, his horror rose until he spun around and shrieked at the man, "_What the hell did you give her?"_

The stranger simply sat in his chair unconcernedly. At the sound of the shouted question, he began to make a strange hollow sound, and it took Colby a few moments to realize that what he was hearing was laughter.

* * *

><p>Racing through the dark streets in the invisible car, Megamind sat in the passenger seat with a sappy smile, contentedly thinking about his precious Miss Ritchi and the evening that they had promised each other to continue when he got home.<p>

Minion glanced at him from time to time as he drove, tilting his little body inside his habitat to allow him to keep his eyes on the road as best he could while he weaved in and out of traffic. He knew exactly what kind of thoughts were bouncing around inside that big brain whenever he saw that dreamy look in his friend's green eyes.

Normally this wouldn't bother Minion a bit, and he would in fact find it pretty amusing to watch his boss pine away with that love sick expression. However, considering that they were on their way to a crime scene to lend a heroic hand, he thought Megamind should have his thoughts on what they were doing.

"Sir, I know you're a bit… um, _distracted_ right now, but you might want to start thinking about what we're on our way to do. Distraction is definitely not a good plan during hero work."

Megamind rolled his eyes and looked at his companion, "You're such a pill, Minion. I'm not distracted! I'm well aware of what we're doing, and I have it all under control. We haven't met anyone yet who even comes close to being a match for the two of us, except Metro… um, I mean _Music _Mahn. And he's too busy writing his ridiculous songs to even bother with coming out of his hideout." he said with a scornful chuckle and a shake of his head. "Anyway, I certainly don't expect things to be any different tonight."

"Yes, but don't you think it's a good idea to expect the unexpected? You never know what's going to happen, and just like Miss Ritchi said tonight, it's important to be prepared."

Megamind gave Minion a patient look that one would give to a child that asked too many questions and sighed, "Minion, all we usually have to do is show up on the scene, and the bad guys wet their pants and throw down their guns. I'm telling you, this'll be _no.. big.. deal_. Watch, I bet we'll be out of there in five minutes, ten tops."

"Well, consider what neighborhood we're going to, Sir. That's a pretty rough place. Don't you think we should be just a bit cautious? After all, just think how crushed Miss Ritchi would be if something were to happen to you." Minion knew this would get his attention.

The complacent expression faded from Megamind's face for a moment as he considered this. He couldn't bear the thought of putting Roxanne through any pain, and he knew that if something were to happen to him, it would break her heart.

"You're right, Minion. I'll be careful, and I'll keep my mind on the situation at hand, but like I said, I really don't think there's anything to worry about."

"I'm sure you're right, Sir" Minion said, slightly comforted that his boss seemed to be focusing.

For a few moments, they were both silent as they sped through the city, watching out the windows as their surroundings began to look more and more deteriorated as they went on.

Suddenly Megamind piped up "Minion, I've been thinking about something important for a while, but didn't want to say anything until I made a decision. I think I've finally come to a conclusion."

"What is it, Sir?"

"Well… I'm going to propose to Roxanne."

When Minion heard this, he almost swerved into the car that was to the left of them, and it took all of his considerable driving skills to prevent an accident. He tore his big brown eyes away from the road for a moment and studied his friend. He knew this was going to be coming at some point, but hearing Megamind say this so soon was a shocker for Minion.

"Wow Sir. I'm not sure what to say. Don't you think it's a little soon? After all, the whole thing with Titan, and the…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Bernard incident was only six months ago. I mean, you might want to consider giving her a little more time."

"Yes, yes. I know that Minion, and that's one of the things that I've been rustling with,"

"Wrestling, Sir"

"Alright, wrestling. But Minion, I love her, and I honestly don't know how I ever got along with out her before. I know I could _never_ live without her now, and I know she feels the same way about me."

He was quiet for a moment, and judging by the thoughtful look on his face, Minion knew he wasn't finished. It was rare for Megamind to lay his feelings bare like this, so the fish waited patiently for his boss to continue.

"In hindsight, I can see this long chain of events in my life that has been nudging us together all along. All those years of me believing that being a villain was my destiny, I was completely missing the plane"

"Ah, I think you mean boat Sir"

"Oh yes, boat. That's right. But as I was saying, I can see now that all along, aside from being a hero it was Roxanne that was my destiny, and I don't want to let another day go by without her. I'm thirty five, Minion. Too much of my life has been wasted on silly things like city wide domination and striking fear into the populace, you know the drill. She's more important to me than anything in the world, and there's nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with her."

His words were so sincere, Minion had to turn his eyes away from the road again to look at his boss. When he saw the way his eyes were lit up, and the look of pure joy reflected there, and how his every movement radiated the love that he had for the sassy reporter, his fishy little heart melted.

Minion had always been a bit of a romantic, a fact that he tried to hide from his boss for fear of the ribbing he knew he'd receive if Megamind ever found out. But now that Miss Ritchi had come into his life in such a special way, his boss was turning out to be an even bigger romantic than he was.

Minion's eyes filled with tears, which was difficult to do considering that his dome was filled with water, and his chin quivered a bit as he said in a slightly tremulous voice "Oh Sir, congratulations! I'm so happy for you both!"

"I know!" Megamind said with a sniff, his eyes looking suspiciously misty as well. Then he suddenly straightened and cleared his throat, and with an impatient voice he commanded "Pull yourself together, Minion! We're almost there, and it won't do to have the hero and his sidekick looking like a couple of crying sissies when we arrive!"

"Certainly Sir! You're right!" Minion quickly answered, and as they turned the corner and saw the police cars, ambulances and flashing lights surrounding a broken down old house, they proceeded to _pull themselves together _so they would look sufficiently heroic when they got out of the car to handle whatever situation awaited them.

* * *

><p>When Megamind and Minion arrived on the scene and stepped out of the car, it caused more that a few of the officers that had been sent to handle the situation to jump. They were already feeling quite skittish under the circumstances, and seeing the handsome blue hero and his simian sidekick step out of mid air was just a little too much.<p>

As they approached the officer that seemed to be in charge, Megamind noticed a couple of things at once. The first thing was that every cop on the scene seemed spooked, and as they set about putting up road blocks and getting things situated, they continued to nervously glance at the house in question. _If it wasn't for Metro Mahn, I would have gotten away with all my acts of mayhem in my villainous days. Look at the way they're wandering around, they're practically useless! _

The second thing was a sound that at first didn't register in his sensitive ears over the howling wind; it was the sound of a woman screaming.

When he realized what he was hearing, the bright mood that he had been in was shaken, and his face began to darken with worry. He rushed over to the officer in charge, who happened to be Roxanne's friend, Chris O'Donnell. "Thank God there's actually someone here who knows what they're doing! Tell me what's going on, Chris."

Chris's face immediately showed his relief that Megamind was on the scene. "Well Sir, we received a call reporting a woman screaming. The call was made by someone inside the house and they were frantic with the 911 officer. We just arrived on the scene right before you did, and when we got here we heard that," Chris motioned to the house, and the terrifying sound that was escaping it to be carried away on the wind.

"You have no other details for me?"

"No, I'm sorry Sir. We have three witnesses over there who just came outside, but we can't get any information out of them. They're panicking and seem to be in shock… nothing they're saying is making any sense."

"Ok, thanks. You go ahead and set things up out here. Watch the exits and don't let anyone out. Minion and I will take it from here."

With this, Megamind motioned for Minion, and the two of them approached the house cautiously.

* * *

><p>"I asked you a question! What was in that?" Colby shouted again. As he watched the stranger continue to sit and laugh quietly, his fear began to turn into anger.<p>

The girl's shrieks and cries were growing worse, and accustomed to the rough street life though he was, Colby found himself wanting to cover his ears to block out the sound. While he watched her, her trembling grew worse and soon turned into spasms and convulsions.

"Just a little cocktail I mixed up. Don't worry, it's all part of the experience." the stranger said. "Now, lets talk business."

Colby finally realized just how dangerous it would be to do any business with this man, and he snapped to a decision.

"No, get out." he said unsteadily.

"Ah, having a change of heart? Well I'm afraid it's too late for that now. You're the one who initiated this; now that you've seen me you have no choice." As the man said this, he rose from his chair to face Colby. The quiet, scraping tone of his voice changed slightly, and now it seemed to be dripping with menace.

"I said get out! I'm not doing business with you." Colby shouted over the screams of the girl as she lay writhing on the couch.

When the man heard these words, he took a step nearer and said "I'm afraid that's a very poor decision. I was right about you; you calling me here was due to a lack of brains rather than a surplus of guts. Now you've gotten yourself into trouble."

Colby began to detect again the strange, bitter scent on the air that he had noticed earlier, but this time it was much stronger. So strong in fact, it caused his head swim, and made it very difficult to think clearly. The combination of the terrible noises behind him, the mind numbing smell in the air, and the presence of the stranger was causing Colby to panic, and he pulled his gun with shaking hands and aimed it at his unwelcome guest.

Once again, the odd hollow laughter began to escape the lips of the man as he walked nearer, and he said "You don't really think that's going to help you, do you?"

As he said this, a frightening change began to take place in him as Colby watched. He was suddenly surrounded by a swirling purplish mist that seemed to come from the man himself, and caused the sharp smell in the room to become unbearable. The pale, tightly drawn skin of his face changed to a shriveled gray that clung to his face so tightly, Colby could see every outline of the skull hidden beneath. The empty eyes were lit from within by that reddish gleam that he thought he had imagined earlier in the evening when this nightmare had first begun.

As the combination of all these things registered in Colby's frightened, foggy brain, his heart raced in his chest and threatened to burst from the exertion. Never in his life had he been more terrified, and as he watched this monster close in on him, Colby began to scream.

* * *

><p>Megamind and Minion approached the house and stood on the doorstep, listening as the frightening sounds coming from inside grew louder. Minion looked at his boss with an expression of uncertainty. It wasn't that he was afraid; he was as brave as a lion and would fearlessly do whatever it took to protect someone in need, especially his precious Sir or Miss Ritchi. But he was a sensitive and empathetic fish, and hearing these terrible sounds was very disturbing to him.<p>

Megamind noticed the distressed look on his friend's face and said quietly "I'll take this, Minion. I need you to hang back and watch the door, and I'll signal if I need your help. Make sure you have your watch ready so you can hear me if I call."

"Ok, Sir. Be careful!" Minion said, the expression on his face filled with concern for his friend. He had complete confidence in Megamind's ability to handle any situation he was confronted with, though he couldn't help but worry a little.

Megamind stealthily walked through the grungy house following the noise, eyeing the dark doorways as he went along. He checked the setting on his De-gun, making sure it was set to the standard Dehydrate. As he turned a corner, he saw a dimly lit doorway ahead, the obvious source of the disturbance.

He approached the door silently to get a look at what was going on inside; preferring to have a plan before he burst in on a situation if possible. He could hear over the top of the woman's cries two male voices, one was low and threatening, the other raised in a hysterical shout. Before he had the chance to see anything, all hell seemed to break loose inside the room. One of the male voices suddenly began screaming in terror, and then the sound of gunshots rang out, echoing through the empty house.

_Well, forget about that plan_. Time had run out, and Megamind was going to have to improvise. With his De-gun in his hand he instantly stepped into the room, and the sight that met his eyes stopped him in his tracks.

The room was filled with a strange purplish smoke that oddly seemed to be coming from a very tall, thin looking man in a long fur lined coat. He had his back facing the door, preventing Megamind from seeing his face. He was standing above another man, who was laying on the floor as he thrashed and squirmed with a look of pure fear in his eyes. A gun lay on the floor at his side. On a couch in a corner was a woman, twitching and jerking. She was presumably the woman who had been screaming moments ago, but now seemed to be unconscious.

As he took all of this in, the tall man seemed to sense that someone else was in the room with him, and he turned to face the doorway. The act of spinning toward Megamind caused some of the smoke to waft toward him, and as it began to drift around him he noticed an odd pungent odor, and his thoughts were momentarily muddled. Then he noticed the face of his adversary, and his heart jumped into his throat.

The man before him was more a walking skeleton than a man, with grayish purple skin clinging to his bony face, and a dull red gleam reflected from deep within hollow looking eyes.

"Ah, look who showed up. Metro City's new _Hero_!" he sneered with a groaning laugh as he eyed the blue figure standing in the doorway. "I wondered when I was going to run into you."

Megamind was so shocked at the sight of this person standing before him, he was completely at a loss for words and unable to engage in the witty banter that had always been his favorite part of each confrontation. His mind was still slightly foggy from the smoke that had drifted his way.

Rather than bother with this bizarre new villain he trained his De-gun on the man and fired, assuming that a glowing blue cube would be easier to deal with than a deranged criminal. But instead of being reduced to the expected cube, the blue beam from the De-gun had no effect, and instead passed right through him with a puff of smoke.

Megamind's eyes widened in confusion and shock. As his incredibly brilliant brain rapidly tried to puzzle through what had just happened, the monster looked at him with a vicious glare filled with pure hatred, and in a swirl of purple mist he was gone.

At that moment, Minion burst through the door in a panic. Having heard the gunshots, he came running at full speed, ready to help his friend. When he saw Megamind standing there unharmed, relief flooded through him and he cried "Oh my god! Are you ok? When I heard the… Sir?"

Minion, having come in seconds too late, watched in confusion as Megamind stood staring at the center of the room where the villain had only moments ago disappeared into thin air, and a strange haze of purple smoke drifted idly around the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, you guys are so smart; some of you guessed who the villain was right off the bat. Kudos to you! For those of you that still aren't sure…shhh! No spoilers here, you'll find out soon enough! **

**Now on with the story; just picking right up where we left off.**

* * *

><p>"Sir? What happened? I came as fast as I could when I heard the shots." Minion asked fearfully as he approached Megamind, who was still standing just inside the doorway with wide eyes.<p>

"Did you see that Minion?"

"See what, Sir?"

Megamind turned to give his friend a searching look, and Minion was taken aback by the confused and worried expression on his face. He had always been so resilient, able to take every sticky situation in stride with an evil laugh and some choice banter, but obviously something had just happened to throw him off his game. Minion hadn't seen him this perturbed since that afternoon with Titan.

The two friends suddenly became aware once again of the other occupants in the room. The man laying on the floor continued to cry out in terror, and the woman on the couch lay still.

"Never mind, Minion. Just check her.' Megamind instructed as he ran over to the man to examine him for any sign of injury. As he did so he eyed the suspicious looking purplish mist , trying to keep as much distance between it and himself as possible. "See if she has any visible wounds."

He checked the man laying on the floor and tried to calm him, but was unable to pull him out of his panic. He was in a terrible state. The man had been terribly beaten, with swollen bruises covering his face and severe lacerations, and almost certainly several broken bones. Megamind was unable to tell what this man may have looked like before the beating. He felt certain that if he hadn't stepped in when he did, it would have been too late to save him.

He checked him for any sign of gunshot wounds, and finding none he allowed his eyes to travel the room, looking for evidence of the direction that the bullets had flown. Across the room from where he knelt he found several bullet holes in the wall, directly behind the spot where the criminal had stood when Megamind entered the room.

Considering this, and the close quarters of the room in which the altercation had taken place, the villain should have been hit. It would have been nearly impossible for the victim to miss, and yet when the stranger wheeled around to look at Megamind with that threatening stare, it was obvious he hadn't been injured in the slightest. These thoughts brought to mind the way the blast from his De-gun seemed to pass right through the strange man with a puff of the mist that was only now beginning to dissipate from the room.

Minion knelt next to the woman and looked her over. He saw no immediate signs of serious trauma, although she was having a difficult time breathing and intermittently twitched and trembled. "I don't see any injuries Sir, but she definitely needs help."

Megamind joined his friend at the girl's side, knowing that Minion was at a disadvantage in his ability to check her situation. With his robotic hands he couldn't even check her pulse.

"Her heart rate is rapid and irregular." he commented.

He let go of her wrist and moved his hands to her face, gently opening one eyelid, and noticed that her pupils were incredibly dilated.

"These two both need medical attention right now. Send in the EMT's while I check out the rest of the house. There was…", he paused, unsure of who or _what_ he had just seen, and not sure of how to explain it to Minion. "someone else here, but somehow he gave me the slip. This guy is dangerous, and we _can't_ allow him to be out there on the streets."

"Got it." Minion said as he quickly stood and turned to get help.

"Let O'Donnell know there's a dangerous criminal on the loose. We're going to need to comb the area; he'll know what to do to get things coordinated ." Megamind called after the fish as he retreated through the doorway.

Although he felt terrible about leaving the two people who were in obvious need of help, he stood and with De-gun drawn began to search the house from room to room. Now that his head was clear again, he continued to ruminate what he had seen, wondering if it was real or an effect of the smoke in the room.

He was certain that what the two victims in the other room were experiencing was due at least in part to that odd smoke. He had never gotten involved in drugs himself, and had in fact always found them disgusting. But spending much of his life in prison gave him considerable experience with what they could do to a person.

So many of the inmates suffered horribly from addiction. He could usually tag exactly what type of drug they were using by their reactions, and he was willing to bet money that there were hallucinogenic properties in the strange mist that had momentarily effected even his judgment.

And of course if that was the case, that could possibly help explain the frightening face and bizarre disappearance of the man who had given him the slip. _But what about those bullets that magically missed him?_

He was thankful that his alien physiology made him so much more resistant to the drugs of this planet he called home. If it wasn't for that, it was likely that he would have been far more effected by the whiff of smoke he did receive when he first burst into that room. This thought made him shudder slightly, and he pushed it out of his mind.

He completed his search, and finding no sign of the villain, he rushed back through the house to meet with the waiting police unit to help coordinate the manhunt. All the way from the back of the house he had been able to hear the commotion of the EMT's as they tended to the victims. As he rushed past, he looked in on them and noticed the evident concern on the faces of the men and women wheeling them out to the waiting ambulances.

Megamind had serious concerns of his own. Thoughts of Roxanne flooded his mind, and he hoped that she was safely home at the lair. Being the city's star journalist and his own personal reporter, she was often called out to cover his feats of heroism. Knowing that this new villain was on the loose filled his heart with worry for her, and he was determined to track him down and have him behind bars before anyone else was hurt.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Roxanne had indeed been called out to report on the scene of Megamind's latest heroic rescue. She stood on the side of the dark street, braving the wind and the rain for the second time that day. She wished for nothing more than to be warm and dry at home.<p>

The only thing that made standing outside on this stormy night worth while was the knowledge that before long, Megamind would come strutting out of the house, ready to give a quick interview. He loved showing off for the camera, and did his best to answer her questions and relay information with impressive presentation. The citizens who were watching absolutely ate it up.

Of course, Roxanne knew that more than anything else, he was showing off for her, and that knowledge made her giddy with anticipation of watching his antics. She loved the way he showed off to impress her, and she couldn't get over how easily her blue boyfriend could make her feel like a love struck teenager.

She thought it was a bit unusual that tonight she hadn't been allowed to get in closer to the action. She had almost always been allowed to come in closer than any of the other reporters, but for some reason the officers on duty here were not letting anyone come near, not even her.

The closest she had been allowed to get was across the street and several houses down. She still had a decent view of the goings on, but was irritated at the fact that she was farther away from the action than she was used to, and that meant she might miss important pieces of the story.

Being the nosy and headstrong reporter that she was, her curiosity was immediately peaked to an almost unbearable level, and she began to look for ways to sneak her way in to get closer to the scene. It didn't take long for her to realize that there was no way she would be able to get through; the cops were watching the perimeter like a bunch of hawks. Her only hope at getting by them was to wait for Megamind to come out and personally usher her through.

She held tightly to her umbrella, while in the other hand she clutched her microphone, trying as hard as she could to keep from shivering in the gusts of wind that ripped past. She was a professional journalist after all, and had to look calm and collected on camera, now matter how uncomfortable she actually felt.

With the occasional glance back in the direction of the rundown old house in anticipation of seeing her beau, she waited for the signal from her cameraman to begin her broadcast.

"This is Roxanne Ritchi reporting live from east side Metro City, where once again our city's hero Megamind is on the job. I'm standing outside a house in the old Lakewood district, where this evening, Megamind was called in to respond to a call for help."

"There are no details released at this point about the nature of the disturbance, so we are waiting now for the hero himself to fill us in when he has the situation in hand. Until then, KMCP will continue throughout the night to give live updates, and keep you informed as things develop. Now, back to you Steve."

Cody Pearson, Roxanne's new cameraman, gave her the signal that she was off the air. She breathed a sigh of relief and handed him her mic, then reached up to grab the front of her jacket to catch as much body heat as possible. She couldn't help but shiver, and her teeth began to chatter.

"That was great Roxie! Watching you on camera, I could barely tell that you're about to freeze to death. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were standing on the beach enjoying the sun." Cody pestered with a smirk.

"Stop rubbing it in, Cody! You get to stand out here wrapped up in like… eight layers of sweatshirts and coats, and I have to stand here in a skirt, my wool jacket and a scarf so I can look _professional_ on camera. Yeah, I'm definitely freezing, especially since this is round two of standing in the middle of a rainstorm today."

Roxanne liked Cody. He was in his early twenties, with sandy blond hair, gray eyes, and a contagious smile. He was the type of person it was almost impossible not to like, even if he could be a bit of wet blanket sometimes. He was much too cautious for her, and was always trying to talk her out of one of her spontaneous plans to dig deeper to get the real story. She hoped that after she had the chance to work with him for a while, he would loosen up a bit.

Despite that, he had a fun sense of humor and really knew how to do his job. Best of all, he wasn't a bit creepy. He was the most _normal_ cameraman she'd ever had, and she was very thankful to finally be able to work with someone that she enjoyed.

Even Megamind liked him; and that was saying a lot, as he had been very protective about the person she was assigned to work with after what had happened with Hal. He particularly liked the fact that Cody was the cautious type; it gave him a little peace of mind knowing that she was working with someone who would at least _attempt_ to steer his headstrong girlfriend away from trouble.

"Aw, you're just jealous of my stylish attire and my suave demeanor." he said.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and gave him a little glare, "You've been hanging around my charming boyfriend a little too much, haven't you? Sorry Cody, but you're cut off. No more evenings at the lair hanging out with Megs and Minion for you. I think _Megamind's_ ego is cute, but coming from you… it's a little too much."

Cody laughed and said "Don't let him hear you calling him cute, I don't think he'd appreciate that."

"Actually, I'm probably the _only_ person who can get away with calling him that and not end up looking like a little blue cube."

"So you don't think he'd like it if _I_ called him cute? Not that I'm saying I think he is or anything, I was just curious." he asked innocently.

The image of Cody calling her former-super-villain boyfriend cute made her giggle. "I wouldn't try it if I were you."

With a final laugh, Roxanne turned around and looked toward the dilapidated house where all the action was, hoping to catch a glimpse of Megamind swaggering out after another successful call. As she did, she noticed again how diligently the police were watching the perimeter they had set up, and that they seemed to be on their toes far more than usual. "Cody, have you noticed that the police seem a bit jumpy tonight? They won't even let us get close to report the story."

"Yeah actually, I was just thinking about that. They're really on their game today. I don't even think _you_ could sneak through that line."

Cody knew that was a mistake the moment those words left his mouth… those were fighting words to Roxanne; she would see that as a direct challenge. He resigned himself to the idea that this evening was probably about to get a lot more interesting, and he wondered just how she was going to sneak the two of them across the perimeter, and how close they'd get to the house in question before they were caught by the cops, or Megamind himself.

Cody was right, the first thoughts that sparked in Roxanne's brain when she heard his accidental challenge was _"Not even me, huh? I found Megamind's lair, and snuck inside! No one else could have done that! You just watch me sneak through that line and show you how it's done." _

With narrowed eyes and a mischievous smirk, she waved at him to follow her, and began to nonchalantly work her way toward the line of officers. She looked discretely for any break or weakness that she could use to their advantage to sneak inside.

As Roxanne slunk stealthily along with Cody in tow, she thought more about the diligence of the police officers that were responding to this call. The full weight of just how out of the ordinary it was for the MCPD to be so assiduous began to make her feel a bit uncomfortable. Something must have happened to cause quite a bit of concern… enough to make the police keep the press, and everyone else, at a distance.

She stopped her approach and looked across the street toward the house, and as she did, her expression began to show the concern that was creeping in. All she could think of was Megamind. She loved the fact that he was the hero now… _her_ _hero_, but in moments like this it was so hard not to worry, even though she knew that he and Minion could handle themselves in any situation they came up against.

"I hope everything is ok." she said to herself, trying hard not to let Cody see how worried she actually was.

* * *

><p>Megamind hurried outside into the night, cape flapping furiously in the wind, and began to scan the crowded street looking for Chris O'Donnell. He knew that Minion would have already met up with him and together they would have gotten the ball rolling to start the man hunt for the missing criminal, but he needed to talk to him personally.<p>

Minion didn't actually see the villain, having entered the room moments after he disappeared. Without being there to see what happened first hand , he had no way of really impressing on Chris just how critical it was to capture him as quickly as possible.

He wondered exactly how he was going to explain what he had seen to the lieutenant without it sounding completely crazy; thinking back, it seemed pretty crazy to him too. _Until I have a chance to figure out what's going on, I'm keeping quiet about the more unbelievable details of what happened in that room._

Megamind immediately saw Minion in the crowd; being a fish in an eight foot tall robotic gorilla suit made him pretty easy to spot in a crowd. He was standing by a police van in a huddle of rain gear clad officers, talking animatedly. As he spoke, several officers turned and rushed off, obviously on a mission to accomplish some task that had been given to them by his friend.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Megamind couldn't help but notice the comedy in seasoned police officers taking orders from a fish. He chuckled as he watched the scene unfold, thankful for the nth time to have Minion for his sidekick and best friend.

When Minion finished helping Chris instruct the officers who surrounded him, he turned to see Megamind approaching. He waved at his friend to get his attention, and then began to close the distance between them with long, heavy steps.

As Megamind walked across the rain soaked yard, he looked up and saw the KMCP news van parked across the street with the other press vehicles… that could only mean one thing.

Minion stood along side Megamind and began, "Well Sir, I… ".

"Damn it! She's here, Minion." Megamind interrupted without looking away from the van.

"Um, who's here?"

Megamind shot the fish an impatient look and gestured across the street. "Who do you think?"

"Oh."

"I need to try and get her out of here. I don't want her out here right now with that maniac running around loose."

"Well, good luck with that. I don't think it's going to go over very well with her if you try and get her to go home. You of all people know that's not how Roxanne does things."

Megamind took what Minion said into consideration. He was right, Roxanne wasn't the girl to just sit and wait at home when there was a story to scoop, or an adventure to be had. That had always been one of the things he had loved about her; her plucky courage and perpetual curiosity. But he felt incredibly strongly that he needed to get her out of here as quickly as possible.

"I know Minion, you're right. But I have to try. I don't want to worry about whether or not she's ok while we're out there trying to find this guy."

Minion's curiosity was getting the better of him. He usually didn't question Megamind's orders; after all, he was the boss. But seeing the concern and confusion in his eyes as he stood in that room, and his continuing worry, was enough to set off all of Minion's alarms. "What exactly happened in that room before I got there?"

Megamind stopped for a moment. "_I'm_ not even sure what happened. All I know is the person we're looking for is very dangerous, and I don't think we've seen the last of him. I have a terrible feeling about this guy, Minion. I have to go talk to Roxanne." With that he turned on his heel and strode away into the storm.

* * *

><p>Megamind made his way through the assembly of police officers that were rushing around, throwing together the last details needed for an all out man hunt. He approached the perimeter with his eyes focused on the KMCP van, occasionally pulling his gaze away to sweep the crowd for a very sneaky brunette and her accomplice.<p>

With a nod and clap on the back, and an encouraging word to the officer watching that section of the line, he stepped under the _Do Not Cross _tape and began to weave his way through the horde of reporters and news vans that were crowded into the small section of street.

He didn't need to go far; almost the moment he crossed the line, he spotted Roxanne. She was bundled in her wool jacket, umbrella in hand, and about to sneak her way into the forbidden and heavily guarded section of road that must be pulling her in like a magnet.

As long as he'd known her, she had boggled his mind with her uncanny ability to discover important secrets and information that others would overlook, and sneak her way into places that were almost impossible to breach. Before, when he was a villain, it was a constant source of frustration for him. He always had to keep on his toes to stay one step ahead of her.

Now that he was on the right side of the law, things really hadn't changed much… she still frustrated him to no end, but the reasons for this were entirely different. He worried for her all the time, and had wished more than once that he could find a way to convince her to be more cautious and take less risks. There were times she stressed him out so much, he was sure he was going to end up with an ulcer.

On the other hand, it was this gutsy and courageous side of her that had been one of the first things that had attracted him to her so long ago. No matter how much it aggravated him at times, he would never want to change her… she was perfect just as she was.

Instead of approaching her immediately, he decided to wait and watch what she was up to, amused by her plucky antics. He took a step back and ducked behind a van that was in a direct line to her destination; the section of caution tape that was being supervised by the officer he had just spoken to. Sergeant Zietz, was it?

Zietz was now distracted by a conversation he was having on his cell phone, and stood laughing loudly as he discussed his latest conquest on a video game he had apparently been playing for hours before he had reported for duty today. The young officer wasn't even looking at the crowd of journalists that were milling around the line like scavengers, looking for scraps of information to snatch up and pop into a story.

Megamind's brows lowered darkly as he watched the young man's sloppy work. With all these reporters out here, he should be on top of things to keep their curious noses out of places they didn't belong. Heck, with Roxanne out here, maybe they should have called in the National Guard to help watch the perimeter. _Note to self; have an unpleasant conversation with Sergeant Zietz when this is all over._

* * *

><p>By this time, Roxanne was already so wet, she decided to give up her attempt to stay dry and presentable. If she got through the line to the real story, it wouldn't matter what she looked like for the camera anyway.<p>

She threw her umbrella down so it wouldn't get in her way, and wove her way through the street with her eyes intently focused on the cop that was standing about forty feet in front of her. She was too distracted by her curiosity to notice how cold she was becoming.

He was far too busy talking on his phone to pay attention to the group of onlookers and journalists that were curiously assembled to watch whatever was going on at the house across the way. She stopped abruptly and flattened herself up against the side of a van, grabbing Cody by his layers of coats and yanking him back as the officer turned momentarily in their direction.

"Wait, I think he's too busy yakking to have seen us yet. Just hold still for a minute." she said in a low voice.

"Roxanne, you know we're getting caught… there's no two ways about it."

"Shut up Cody; stop being a whiner. He might hear you. We're getting in there no matter what I have to do."

"There are cops everywhere, Roxie. It's just a matter of time before they catch us. Getting arrested doesn't sound like a fun way to spend the evening." Although Cody was young, he had a level head. When Roxanne was caught up on an irresistible wave of journalistic curiosity, he tried to be the voice of reason to anchor her down and help keep her from getting into too much trouble until Megamind showed up and took it from there.

"Listen, they wouldn't dare arrest _me_, and I thought I overheard one of the cops that we passed back there say something about a manhunt. There's _no way _I'm missing this story!" she insisted, not mentioning that the other reason she wanted to get through was that she wanted to see Megamind, and make sure he was ok.

With a sigh, Cody shook his head at her and looked up into the stormy sky, as though he were trying to see up there some way out of the mess she was about to get them into.

"Just stay if you don't want to come along, I can do it on my own." She said a little impatiently.

"No, no… I'm coming." he replied resignedly.

With that she grabbed hold of his coat once again, and when the officer on guard turned away, she drug him along behind her and worked their way quickly around the van. When she turned the corner, she let go of the cameraman and prepared to run, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw standing in front of her a very handsome blue alien, soaking wet with his cape whipping behind him in the wind.

Megamind looked at her with a knowing smirk and raised brow, and asked "What exactly are you doing, Miss Ritchi?"

Roxanne was immediately struck with a mix of several emotions at once; relief at seeing her beau safe, embarrassment at being caught in the act of once again poking her nose exactly where it didn't belong, and belligerent pride at knowing that Megamind was going to razz her for sneaking around… across a police perimeter no less.

"Megamind, you scared me." she huffed. "I wasn't expecting to see you out here."

"Uhuh, I can see that. You didn't answer my question… what are you doing?"

"Just trying to get closer in so I could try to get the scoop from one of the officers. That one right there looks like a pretty dim bulb, I thought I could pump him for a little information."

She gestured toward Sergeant Zietz, who was still laughing loudly into his phone. _Admit nothing and maybe he won't hassle me about sneaking around._

Megamind's only response was to tilt his head to the side a little and deepen his smirk. His eyebrow raised higher than she'd ever seen it, and he shook his head at her slowly. _He has me _so_ figured out._

"Ok, so I was sneaking in! I'm not staying out here a mile away and miss the story." With that she took a step closer to him and put her hands on his chest. Looking up into his emerald eyes she said "And with all this," she gestured at the bustling band of police officers, flashing lights and caution tape, "I was getting worried about you, I just wanted to know that you were ok."

His heart did a little flip when he heard the concern in her voice, and he put his arms around her waist to pull her in close.

With a smile he said "I'm just fine, you don't need to be worried."

Roxanne took a deep breath and relaxed a bit, but looking around she asked "If everything's ok, why do they have such a wide perimeter sectioned off around the house? What's going on?"

She watched his response as she asked this, and was disturbed by the dark expression that clouded his handsome face.

"Roxanne, I'm going to ask you to do something that you're not going to like, but I need you to hear me out. I want you to get away from here. Please go back to the lair, or anywhere you want; just put some distance between you and this place."

Roxanne huffed and laughed sarcastically, "You're kidding, right? You can't be serious."

"I'm very serious. I want you to get away from here; the lair would be the safest place."

"Megamind, I can't just pick up and leave, I have a job to do … same as you! I _have_ to be here right now."

_There she goes again, she's the most stubborn person I've ever met. _He wished again for a moment that she wasn't quite so headstrong.

He looked at her determined face, and only now noticed that she was wet through. Her hair was soaked and dripping, and she had her arms wrapped around herself in an effort to stay warm. He though of the night when she had left him alone, in the rain, before that terrible day with Titan. His heart broke at the thought, and he pulled her to him and held her close.

"You shouldn't be out here without your umbrella, look at you… you're soaked." he said as he smoothed her wet hair away from her eyes and kissed her forehead. She melted into his arms and cuddled back, holding him tight. He loved this woman more than he had ever thought possible, and with every breath, and every beat of his heart he found himself loving her more and more. He would do anything to keep her safe.

"Roxanne, please listen. There's a very dangerous criminal on the loose right now. He got away when we were in that house, and I'm afraid he's going to hurt someone else." He pulled her back and gazed into her eyes, and then looked beyond her at Cody, who was looking slightly sheepish that he hadn't been able to dissuade Roxanne's determined charge into forbidden territory.

"What happened?" she asked anxiously.

His expression changed again to one of uncertainty and confusion. "I can't tell you right now, I have to go help find this guy, but I promise to tell you about it later. And I'm sorry, but I can't do an interview right now either."

"No, I know. It's ok."

"You can just explain that there were two people attacked, and that the suspect is on the loose and he's considered very dangerous. Warn everyone to keep their doors and windows locked; you know, the usual. But don't scare everyone, we don't want to make people panic…"

It was her turn to cock her head to the side and raise an eyebrow at him.

"Right. You don't need me telling you how to do your job, you've got it covered." he said with a chuckle. "Now, about you getting out of here…"

"I can't leave now, Megs. I'm covering this story."

"I know you can't just leave right now, but please get out of here as soon as you can. The information that's going to be released to the press is basically what I just told you. You're ahead of the game right now, so once you get the story on the air and you can slip away, it would make me feel better if you'd go home."

She searched his eyes, and saw the apprehension there. She had learned to trust him completely over the past year, and she knew that because of his respect for her, he would never ask her to do this if there wasn't a _very_ good reason.

"Ok. It'll still be a while, but we'll get out of here as soon as we can."

Megamind was instantly relieved. He smiled at her and quietly said "Thank you, sweetheart."

She smiled back and teased, "You owe me for this you know. This is going to _kill_ me to leave before this whole situation is all wrapped up."

"Yes, well, I'm sure you won't have much trouble getting an exclusive interview with the hero after it's all over with. I can give you every little detail about what happened, and that should make up quite nicely for missing out on standing out here half drowned in the rain tonight."

They both laughed, and he pulled her close for one more kiss. Before he turned to go, he looked over at Cody again, who seemed a bit uncomfortable and was trying hard to look anywhere but at the couple as they held each other.

"Make sure she gets home safe." he called out.

Cody's eyes lit up at the request being made of him by Metro City's defender. "Will do, Mr. Blue!" he answered enthusiastically with a salute.

With a smile, Megamind turned to go. As he did, one last thought occurred to him, and he looked at Roxanne and said "While you're at it, will you please at least go get your umbrella? And putting on a dry coat would be even better; I don't want to worry about you catching _new-monya _on top of everything else."

She giggled at how protective he was. She knew that a lot of women would be irritated that in this day and age a man would have the gall to try and protect her, and a year or two ago she would have been right there with them. Now though, she thought it was sweet, and very romantic. _Those poor women just don't know what they're missing._

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><p>Megamind was out until the wee hours of the morning with the MCPD, searching for the mysterious villain. He had explained what had happened, leaving out the more outlandish details such as his shot passing straight through the criminal with a swirl of mist.<p>

Of course, he didn't give much of a description of his face, and opted instead to focus on the ridiculous outfit he had worn; wide brimmed hat and long fur lined coat that looked like it came straight out of the reject bin at the local Goodwill.

To speed the search, Megamind had gone back to the lair for his hover bike, and Minion drove the streets in the invisible car. He also instructed a horde of brain bots to scour the streets and alleys, as well as any abandoned buildings that were in close proximity to the crime scene.

As Minion drove him back to pick up the hover bike, Megamind told him all about the disturbing events that had taken place at the scene, just before Minion had entered the room. While Minion listened, his worry was evident. He agreed with Megamind, they almost certainly hadn't seen the last of this new villain.

Despite all their efforts, the search had come up with nothing. The force still had their best men on the hunt and the group of brain bots continues to do their part, but Megamind and Minion were both tired, not to mention that worries about Roxanne had been burning in his mind for hours. With some final words of advice to the officers who would be heading things up when they left, they excused themselves and headed home.

When he got inside their little apartment, he hurriedly said goodnight to Minion, and rushed down the hall to the room he shared with Roxanne. Opening the door as quietly as he could, he was relieved to see her sleeping soundly in their bed. He shut the door softly behind him and crept inside, trying not to wake her.

The clock on the bedside table read 4:12am. It had been a long time since he had been up this late, and he was exhausted. Staying up all night to work on his latest plans used to be a regular occurrence for him. Since Roxanne moved in however, whenever possible he tried to keep his sleeping schedule as close to hers as he could, and she tended to be the "early to bed, early to rise" type. Now he that he had become accustomed to an earlier bedtime, it was very hard for him to stay up like this.

He pulled off his wet clothes, too tired to care about a shower. As he did so, he watched Roxanne sleeping in the soft light from the clock. She looked so sweet curled up under the blankets, with her cheek pressed into the pillow, and the light from the clock making little shadows under her long eyelashes. Even in her sleep that same silly lock of hair was still getting into her eyes, and he had to try his hardest not to chuckle and wake her up.

He crawled under the blankets as gently as he could, and settled down comfortably next to his warm girlfriend as he listened to her soft breaths. He began to drift off almost immediately, but was interrupted when Roxanne stirred and said in a drowsy voice, "You're freezing."

"I know, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's ok." she said as she slid over to him and cuddled up close with her head on his chest to help warm him up.

She yawned and said "It's so late; are you just getting back?"

"Yes, and we didn't see any sign of him after all that searching. They're still looking, but I had to come home and get some rest."

"Oh." Roxanne responded, twinges of worry sparking in the back of her mind. She was quiet for a moment, thinking about what he had said in the rain. She knew that she would lie awake the rest of night without sleeping a wink if she didn't know at least something about what happened, so she said "I know you're tired, but can you tell me what happened last night?"

He began to relate the story to her sharing every detail, and as he did so he wondered what she might be thinking. The more _he_ thought about it, the more he began to doubt what he had seen.

She lay quietly, listening to his description, and as she did so she became more and more concerned. When he mentioned the odd mist, her eyes suddenly widened and all sleepiness simply disappeared. Her thoughts instantly snapped back to the crime scene at the Market a little over a year ago, when Megamind had accepted the blame for that strange crime he didn't commit.

She remembered the behavior of the victims, and how she was the only one who seemed to notice that they almost acted as though they had been drugged. One of the only things they had all agreed on when relating their stories was that there had been a strange "fog" in the store. As all these thoughts raced through her mind, a cold hand of fear gripped her heart.

She propped herself up on one elbow and said, "Megamind, do you remember last November, what happened at the market on 278th in Old Town? The day you were blamed for that weird attack on the store, and came to my apartment that night to tell me that it wasn't you that did it?"

With anxiety she continued to share her concerns with him, connecting the pieces of the two separate events like a puzzle. Yes, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She _knew_ the two incidents were related.

Over the course of the last year, so many things had happened, and so many changes had taken place in Megamind's life, he had almost completely forgotten about that day last November. When Roxanne laid the connection out for him, he could easily see the relation between the two crimes.

He listened to her connect the dots, and marveled at the way her reporter instincts were in overdrive, even when she was half asleep. Two thoughts filled his mind as he became convinced that Roxanne was on to something; _Thank God I wasn't imagining things_, and _Oh crap, that was for real._

The anxiety in Roxanne's voice was beginning to escalate as she spoke, "Megamind, I should have done something about this a year ago rather than just sit there and let you take the blame. I had terrible feeling about it then; I knew it was going to come back to haunt you."

She was quiet for a moment, thinking. Megamind knew she had more to say, so he waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts before she continued, and as he did so he ran his long fingers comfortingly through her hair.

"I'm so sorry I just let it drop… if I had just kept on with the story, maybe they would have found this guy and we wouldn't have to be worrying about this right now. I don't think he's just going to go away; he's going to be back, and things are going to get worse."

By the time she had finished, her voice was trembling a bit, and she was obviously trying not to cry. The only time he had ever seen her this shaken up before was the night after their final run in with Titan. He couldn't believe he was hearing her blame herself for this. She had obviously worried about it quite a bit over the past year, and no matter how unfair she was being to herself, she was feeling riddled with guilt. His heart ached for her.

He put his hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb and said "Hey, I'm the one who told you not to worry about it, remember? How could either one of us have known that this would come back? I'm not going to let you blame yourself, sweetheart. It's not your fault."

"I'm not saying it's my fault, but Megs, since when did I ever listen to anything you told me? If I would have just followed my own instincts maybe we wouldn't… "

As she said this, he slid his hand behind her head and pulled her in, interrupting her with a kiss. When their lips parted he said "Stop it. No more feeling guilty. Whatever is going on, We're going to handle it. Minion and I will find this guy, and we're all going to be ok. And stop worrying; that's not exactly behavior fitting for my sassy reporter, is it? Come on, you're _Roxanne Ritchi_! Smartest and toughest reporter in town, remember?" and he punctuated that last remark with a tiny dig at her ribs with his fingers, making her jump and giggle.

"Ok, ok… you're right." she sighed, feeling the tiniest bit better.

"Please, just promise me you'll be careful. I can't help but worry about this, and I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." she said with a strained voice, blinking away the tears that were beginning to prickle her eyes again.

Megamind was simply overcome with his love for her. Unable to contain it any longer, he rolled her over and kissed her deeply, running his hands over her body, exploring every inch of her silky skin, every curve. His lips moved down to explore her neck and jaw line, and he could feel her tremble with anticipation as she clung to him. Holding her was intoxicating, and knowing that she loved him this much blew his mind.

The feeling of his body against hers and his strong kisses began to wash away her worries, and she wrapped her arms around him, her hands caressing and stroking the length of his bare back and strong, lean shoulders. Lifting her legs to encircle him, she kissed him back intensely, feeling the electricity build as he pressed himself teasingly against her, and she rocked her hips gently in anticipation of what she knew would come next. No one had _ever_ loved her as much as he did. She couldn't imagine going another day in her life without him.

Megamind pulled away for just a moment and rested his forehead against hers. Although he still felt concern nagging at the back of his mind about his new enemy, he couldn't let Roxanne know. He wanted to set her mind at ease. He gazed at her beautiful eyes, so dark and alluring in the dimness of the room, and whispered, "I'll always be careful, Roxanne. You _never_ need to worry, I promise."

She was overcome with relief. She trusted him completely, and the fact that he had given her his word that he would be careful removed all remnants of concern. He was right, he could handle anything, and with Minion there at his back, she knew that he would be ok.

She smiled at him, and pulled him in to resume their ardent kisses. Consumed with their love for one another, all concerns were pushed aside. No need to worry for now; for the time being they had each other, and nothing else mattered. With all their hearts, they happily proceeded to fulfill the promise they had made to one another the night before; to continue where they had left off when Megamind had reluctantly been called away.

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><p><strong>I really hope you're enjoying the story... I know I'm having fun writing! :)<strong>

**Please leave me a review, your comments make writing SOOO much more fun, it's great to hear input from all of you! Thank you, Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, it took me forever to get this uploaded... sorry for the delay! Life was incredibly busy during the holidays, and have only now just begun to become somewhat normal. Normal except for the fact that we're currently buried under over a foot of snow, that is. :)**

**This chapter was originally supposed to be one very long one. To make it easier for everyone, I decided to break it up into two, so chapter 5 and 6 go together. That means you get two chapters uploaded in one day! Yay! Hope you enjoy them!**

**A special thanks to Hunger4Righteousness, my very sweet friend, for checking these chapters over for me. Thanks dear, you're the best! :)**

**I wish I owned Megamind, but I don't... darn it! If I did, there'd already be a sequel on the way for all you lovely fans! Since I don't though, I guess we'll all just have to wait and hope. **

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><p>The next morning dawned brighter than the previous day. During the night, the storm had blown itself out, and when Metro City awoke, a crisp blue sky was there to greet it. Despite the brisk, sunny morning however, the mind of the protector of Metro City was filled with dark and disturbing thoughts.<p>

Throughout the early morning as he tried to sleep, he was continually awoken by a flood of memories and thoughts about the call he had responded to the previous evening, as well as the information Roxanne had shared with him. He was still kicking himself that he hadn't seen the connection between the Market robbery and what happened in the Lakewood District the night before.

Although he possessed the most _amazing_ intellect on the planet, Roxanne was still the most astoundingly brilliant person he knew. Only she could make a connection like that; one that even he had missed. Once again he found himself wondering how he had ever gotten along without her in his old days of villainy, before they were together.

After his very short and fitful attempt to rest, Megamind finally gave up and sleepily pulled himself out of bed to resume his hunt for the worrisome new villain. While he dressed he glanced longingly at her as she slept, disappointed that he wasn't still lying curled up beside her. Today was her day off, and if it hadn't been for this new mess he had to deal with, he would still be doing just that… snuggling up close and holding his sweetheart in blissful sleep.

Before he left, he leaned over her and placed a gentle kiss softly on her cheek, lingering there for a moment to breathe in her scent as he did so. As silly as it seemed, he always felt that doing that would allow him to take a little piece of her with him, so he could keep her close while he was out doing the inevitably unpleasant tasks that came along with his new vocation as protector and hero.

"I love you." he whispered softly in her ear. As he did, she stirred and stretched, making an adorable little squeak, then settled back into a deeper sleep. A quiet chuckle escaped his throat as he looked down at her wrapped up tightly in her warm blankets, glimpses of her peachy skin peeping out from under their covering. How was it possible for her to be so perfect?

With an extreme effort, he tore himself away from his beloved to continue the task that had begun the previous night. Hunting down this psychopath was going to be a nightmare, and as always, his concerns for Roxanne's safety were at the top his list of things to worry about when dealing with a nut case of any sort, but for some reason especially now.

The concerns he had for her were just too tough to shake, and for the life of him he couldn't understand why this situation above all the others he'd had to deal with was causing him so much anxiety. _I worry too much, she's completely capable and can take care of herself. She'll be fine!_

Shaking the disconcerting thoughts from his mind, he cast one last longing gaze back at his girlfriend peacefully bundled in bed. With a contented smile, he shut the door softly, and went to find Minion.

He was ready to root out the bad guy, no matter what it took to get his hands on him and toss him behind bars. Not for the first time he thought about the irony in him hunting down the bad guys when he himself was the baddest one of them all just one short year ago. _Amazing what changes when you fall for the most incredibly wonderful woman in the city._

* * *

><p>The first order of business when he and Minion left the lair was to check in with the MCPD to see how the search was coming along. Having heard nothing, he assumed that the villain was still on the loose and the manhunt was in full swing.<p>

Walking into the police station on his own accord, free of handcuffs and accompanying officers, or Metro Man's beefy fist gripping the back of his cape was still a novel experience for him. He had been ushered involuntarily through these doors so many times, he had hated even the sight of the street the station was located on. But now that he was able to come and go freely and with the respect and admiration of the cops on duty, he felt positively giddy each time he came here, and showed it by ramping up his presentation and playing up the crowd of officers as they looked excitedly on.

This morning was different. Although he still felt a touch of excitement as he and Minion walked up the front steps of Metro City Police Headquarters, his mind was deeply entrenched in trying to solve the riddle of the new and mysterious villain that seemed about to become a major player in his future.

Who was this guy, and why had he begun singling him out over a year ago, even though Megamind had no idea who he was? Why was it no attempt at contact between the two had ever been made? How many times had the stranger posed as him to pull off some random atrocity?

There had certainly been more than one crime that had been blamed on him over his years of being the city's bad boy. He had always assumed that it was just petty thugs that had pulled off any number of infractions and gotten away with them. Being Metro City's number one villain, he had been naturally the perfect scapegoat to point the finger at in these cases when there was no one else available to blame. He had never thought much of it before, but now he was beginning to wonder.

As he and Minion trudged through the halls looking for Chris, they discussed this quietly. Minion agreed, things did seem suspicious.

"I wonder just how long this has been going on?" the fish queried, lost in thought and looking down at the floor in front of him as he walked, the thumping of his enormous simian feet echoing through the halls as he went along.

"Don't get me wrong Minion. I'm not suggesting that _every_ time I was blamed for something it was this person, but I'm starting to think that it happened far more than just the Market robbery."

"What else did Miss Roxanne say? Did she mention any other specific crimes that had peaked her interest?"

"No, but we didn't talk for very long; it was so late and we were both exhausted". He wasn't about to tell Minion that the _other_ reason why they didn't continue the conversation was that they were busy smothering each other with kisses, and other… more pleasantly _interesting_ forms of affection.

As the memory of their intimate moments together came to his mind, he became quiet, and a dreamy smile settled on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, Minion saw the distracted look his friend was sporting, and pretended not to notice. He'd been around the two of them together enough now to know exactly what that look meant.

"Sir?" Minion said as he tried to hide his amused smirk, attempting to capture the attention of the momentarily distracted alien.

"Huh? Oh, yes… as I was saying, if anyone knows about anything else that could be linked to this mess, it would certainly be her. I plan on asking her about that when I see her later. Now remember, until we have a handle on exactly what's going on here, this is all under wraps. No discussing this with anyone but Roxanne or myself."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Don't you think that you should be sharing all of your information with the police to help them in the investigation?"

"Are you kidding? I may be the hero now, but only a year ago I was public enemy number one. There are a lot of people in this city who have long memories, and aren't ready to accept me as the hero yet. All it would take would be for me to start spouting crazy stories about walking skeletons oozing purple smoke for them to lose whatever confidence in me they may have had to begin with. No, this is for the best Minion, trust me."

"Ok, sir… but I hope you're right. I just don't want to see this backfire." Minion answered.

"Don't worry about it, it's not going to backfire. I know exactly what I'm doing. Besides… keep in mind, I need to be able to deal with this _my_ way. Doing things by the book and following all those _ridiculous_ rules they have usually doesn't line up with the way I do things, and worst case scenario; it's just plain dangerous. It's all so inefficient and ineffective; I can't afford to have my hands tied; especially in this situation"

Minion had to admit, he did have a point. Although he was now considered the hero, Megamind was still a bad boy at heart, and didn't like to follow the rules that _ordinary_ people had to go by. He did whatever he needed to do to get the job done. Period. The entire police force knew this, and tended to look the other way, no questions asked, because his unorthodox methods were so successful at rounding up the malefactors, crooks, and wackos that the MCPD so frequently had trouble collecting on their own.

"Alright, you're the boss." Minion conceded.

"That's right, and don't you forget that, you silly simian." Megamind joked, poking his friend in the furry shoulder with a gloved finger. _He really is a fantastic fish._

Their conversation was automatically hushed when they rounded the corner to enter the wing of the building that held the cubicle that Lieutenant Chris O'Donnell used as an office. Being a busy officer, he was only there when he had the misfortune of doing the stacks of paperwork that came along with throwing bad guys in jail. Megamind and Minion hoped they would be able to catch him before he went out again.

The normally friendly and welcoming faces of the officers that shared this wing looked tired and strained. Some of them had pulled an all-nighter trying to run down the perpetrator, and those that hadn't were picking up on the stress and negative energy that exuded from the ones that had.

The two aliens headed straight for Chris' desk, eager to get the rundown of the progress in the hunt. When they arrived at the cubicle in question, they were dismayed to find it empty.

"He's not here, Blue Boy." came a gruff but friendly voice from behind them.

Megamind's eyes narrowed and he slowly turned with a superior sneer to look at the middle aged, over weight officer that had addressed him so casually.

"What is this? Save the city and suddenly I'm everyone's best friend, and everybody gets to invent a new nickname for me? That is the second ridiculous moniker I've been addressed by in less than twelve hours. Mister Blue, Blue Boy… "

"Megs… sweetheart… " Minion whispered under his breath with a smirk, quietly to be sure no one could hear but his boss.

Megamind shot him a scathing glare that said _Shut UP you dimwitted creation of science _when he heard Minion uttering the terms of endearment that Roxanne used for him. That was the last thing he needed; to be on an important call and have the officers that were there to work with him call him Megs or sweetheart as a joke. _No respect_ _for the hero! I wonder if Metro Mahn ever had to deal with this sort of thing?_

George Bennett laughed, a hearty chuckle that rumbled up from deep within his ribs.

"Come on, you gotta have a sense of humor to be working around here with this crew." he said with a wide sweep of his arm, indicating the entire wing on the third floor in which they now stood.

Megamind was surprised to find him still here. George was one of the officers who had been on the scene the previous night, and had helped Chris to coordinate the all out hunt for the missing criminal. Despite the exhaustion that he must be suffering from right now, his eyes sparked with mischief and the infectious desire to give whoever happened to be standing anywhere nearby a good ribbing.

George was notorious in the department for his practical jokes. He had once, after coming back from a fishing trip, taken off the inside panel on the door of a friend's squad car and hidden two fat fish that he had caught inside the structure, then reassembled the door and parked it right back in it's usual spot as though nothing had happened. Several days later, during a bit of a heat wave, the smell inside the car was so terrible that his friend couldn't even open the door with out retching from the stench.

The car was taken into the shop and the whole interior was ripped out before they finally found the offending "gift" that George had left inside. Despite the fact that he had gotten a severe, if half hearted reprimand from his superiors, he had laughed himself sick at the memory of his poor friend gagging on the odor of the surprise package he had hidden away.

Upon hearing this story that had achieved the status of legend among the other officers, Megamind was impressed with George's ingenuity and creativity. It was nice to meet someone who shared with him an interest and enthusiasm for stirring up trouble. How ironic that a fellow aficionado of creating aggravation just for the fun of it would be a cop.

Despite once having been completely opposed to one another during his days of terrorizing the city, they soon hit it off and quickly became friends once George was certain that Megamind's turn was sincere. And with that friendship came George's inevitable attempts to one up Megamind, both verbally, and as far as practical jokes go.

George's creativity couldn't hold a candle to Megamind's, but his attempts to outsmart the astonishingly brilliant hero were usually incredibly amusing, and came from a sincere affection for the blue alien. On any normal day, Megamind would have enjoyed this opportunity to put his friendly adversary in his place, but now was not the time.

"George, as much as I would love to cross verbal spears with you, I have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment."

George gave him a slightly confused look and said, "Spears…. do you mean swords?"

"Oh, spears, swords… whatever." Megamind responded with a dismissive wave of his gloved hand. "Where's Chris?"

"You just missed him; he left about fifteen minutes ago. He was on his way to the hospital to check on the witnesses from last night. We got a call that the guy had regained consciousness. Chris wanted to get in some questions while he had the chance."

"Ah, good. I was about to head that way myself; I'll just catch him there. Anything new on the search?"

"No, not a thing. We've scoured every inch of the city in that area, and we came up with nothing. Not even your creepy little brainbots were able to sniff out anything."

Megamind gave him an offended glare when he heard George refer to the brain bots as "creepy". People just didn't understand that the brainbots were his treasured pets rather than simply mindless robots, as popular myth held.

"Alright. Well, let me know if you make any headway. You have my number, yes? And Minion's as well?"

"That I do, and I'll be sure to use them if anything new comes up."

"Excellent! I'll be checking in later, George. You know, it's about time you go home and get some rest, considering you've been at it all night. You won't be good for anything around here if you don't." Megamind clapped him on his plump shoulder. With a mischievous grin he added, "Not that you're good for much of anything anyway. Ciao, ciao!"

And with a dramatic flourish he spun around and headed for the exit, certain that all of the officers that were bustling about on their particular errands would be duly impressed.

"Uhuh. See you later, _Megs_."

Megamind froze when he heard this, and turned to see George trying his damnedest to stifle the laugh that threatened to explode at any moment. His mustache twitched with the effort of suppressing his pleasure at giving the ex-villain that he used to book on a regular basis one last ribbing before he left.

"_Minion_!" Megamind exclaimed, turning toward his friend with an exasperated expression.

Before a very surprised Minion could respond, they were interrupted by another burst of rumbling laughter.

"Unless you enjoy the idea of ending up as a blue cube, I suggest you stifle that!" said Megamind, turning again to his pudgy friend, long finger leveled dangerously in his direction.

When George heard this, he immediately clammed up. He remembered more than once being reduced to a glowing blue cube, and didn't relish the thought of revisiting that experience. He could tell that Megamind's threat wasn't an empty one. Although it was harmless, dehydration was never fun. With a final grin and a sneaky chuckle, he turned back toward his cubicle.

Despite his mild irritation at being jokingly ridiculed by the good natured officer, Megamind left with a wickedly triumphant grin plastered on his face. He may not have been in the mood for spirited banter that particular morning, but never the less, he definitely won that round.

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Chris O'Donnell stood among the cluster of police officers in the hallway of the ICU wing at Metro General, checking in with the men that had been posted as guards as a precaution after the victims had been admitted. As he quietly talked with his colleagues, he heard thumping footsteps drawing closer from down the hall. Looking up, he was relieved to see Megamind and Minion approaching.<p>

Chris was a tall man, about 6' 2", with a strong build and wide shoulders. He had a slightly receding hairline, and serious but kind eyes set in a well lined face. At 48 years old, he had been on the force for nearly twenty five years, and had seen just about everything imaginable during that span of time. Being a cop in Metro City had never been a job for the faint of heart. Much of what he had seen had taught him to have a more serious take on life, but also a compassion for others that was almost without equal.

He remembered from his youth the stories of the tiny blue baby that had been found in the prison yard one Christmas morning. He'd always felt a twinge at his heart strings at the thought of the little boy that was being brought up there. He had often wondered what had become of him, until about 15 years ago that same little boy had shown up as an adult, announcing himself to all the city as the greatest criminal genius the world had ever seen.

Chris had been there to witness all of the battles between Megamind and Metro Man, and had met the villain on several occasions during his booking process at the station, or on the scene shortly after Metro Man had nabbed him.

Despite the entire city being convinced that Megamind was evil incarnate, Chris was never completely convinced that the alien or his sidekick were truly bad. He had always suspected that deep down, there was a whole different side to him than anyone had guessed, and under the right circumstances, that surprising side might just get the chance to finally break through.

His theory was proved to be more right than he could have ever imagined when Roxanne Ritchi became the catalyst for that change of heart. He had suspected that there was a bit of an attraction going on between those two for some time, and at one point he was a bit worried about the sassy little reporter. But he was shocked that for the sake of genuine love, Megamind not only showed a softer, kinder side of himself, but actually became the _hero_ the city needed more than it ever had.

In Chris' opinion, he was more of a hero than Metro Man had ever been. It was nothing for the invulnerable Metro Man to show up to the staged attacks that were set up for the sake of playing the game. Contrast that with Megamind putting everything, even his very life on the line, to save the girl he loved from a true psychopath… yes, there was no comparison. To Chris's mind, you couldn't be a real hero if you had nothing to risk in protecting those that needed help; without the element of self sacrifice, saving people was just putting on a show to make yourself look good.

Though a very quiet, serious minded man, Chris was always amused at the antics of the new hero and his sidekick, just as he was when they were the bad guys as well. There weren't very many people who hit his funny bone the way these two did. Just the way he strutted up to him at this moment threatened to crack his carefully constructed composure.

"Ah, Christopher! A pleasure to see at least _one_ officer on the force who is on their job and handling this situation as it should be handled. I stopped at the station to meet with you this morning before I headed here, but you beat me out the door. Very impressive. At last; an officer of the law that lives up to my exacting standards."

"Thank you, Sir. And good morning, I'm glad to see you! I was just checking in with the guys that stood guard last night after the witnesses were admitted."

"What's with all this Sir stuff? For the hundredth time, just call me Megamind like everyone else does." said the hero with a casual wave of his hand.

"Alright, but I do feel more comfortable calling you Sir, like Minion here". With that he gave a friendly nod toward the fish.

"Oh don't worry about it, that's his choice. I've never insisted on him calling me that."

Minion rolled his eyes and put his hand to the side of his dome so as to obstruct Megamind's view from the side he was standing on. With an exaggerated nod of his head he mouthed the words, "Oh, yes he did".

The steady gaze of the police officer again began to crack into a smile at the sight of Minion calling his boss out like that.

"What?" asked Megamind when he saw the amusement on the lieutenant's face.

"Oh, nothing. Are you ready for the rundown?" asked Chris.

"Yes, give me all the details." Megamind responded.

"Well, the man is named Colby Kessler. A really sleazy character with a long rap sheet. He's one of the worst dealers in the city, and has several warrants out for him right now. We've been after this guy for a long time, but every time we nab him, he's back out on the street in a few days. The people he knows are afraid of him, so no one has ever been willing to testify so we can finally throw away the key."

"Hmm. And what about the woman?"

"Her name is Karli Robinson. We don't know much about her; no outstanding warrants or anything. We've been trying to find her family, but we're not having any success so far." As he said this, his eyes clouded with a touch of sadness for the girl with no family.

"What's their condition right now?" Minion asked.

"Not good. The woman seems to be in a coma, and Kessler keeps slipping in and out of consciousness. When he's awake he's nuttier than a fruitcake… he keeps rambling incoherently. Half of what he says is just gibberish, and the other half doesn't make any sense at all."

"What do you mean?" asked Megamind, his interest suddenly peaked.

"Crazy stuff about a skeleton with red eyes. He's obviously taken a few too many hits of what he's been pushing over the years."

Megamind and Minion exchanged significant glances. "Yes, well… is he conscious right now? I'd like to talk to him."

"Sure, go on ahead. I'd go in with you, but I just got out of there. You don't need me to hold your hand in there anyway. I'm actually going to head home and get a little shut eye. I feel like I'm asleep on my feet right now."

"Good! I was just going to suggest that you do that anyway. I'll catch up with you later, Chris. And thank you for your outstanding work."

"My pleasure. See you both later." Chris responded, and with a tired smile, he turned to head home for some much needed rest.

The two friends watched him go for a moment, then turning toward Megamind, Minion asked, "Are you ready, Sir?"

Megamind looked at Minion with an unreadable expression and answered, "Yes, let's see if we can get to the bottom of this."


	6. Chapter 6

As they entered the room, Megamind was disappointed to see the nurse still taking the vitals of the man in the bed, and generally tending to his needs. He had hoped that by now she would be wrapping up her tasks and preparing to move on to the next patient so he could speak to Kessler in private. Glancing at the miserable man in the bed, he was also disheartened to find that Colby once again seemed to have drifted into unconsciousness.

The nurse glanced up at the new visitors for a moment as she worked, and then turned to change the IV bag. As she lifted the bag, she stopped short and did a double take, suddenly realizing just who the visitors were.

Her eyes grew wide as she gaped in shocked amazement at seeing Metro City's new protectors standing before her.

"Wow, I can't believe this… I heard you were there when they brought him in, but I never thought you'd actually come here." she said in a nervous voice.

"Yes, well; here is where we are. We just came to look in on Mr. Kessler. Please, don't let us distract you from your work, Miss... " Megamind said kindly to the slightly flustered nurse, motioning for her to finish the sentence and tell him who she was.

"Oh, my name's Sarah Clark." she responded as she hung the IV bag on it's stand. She turned and watched the two aliens with a look that seemed to be a mixture of uncomfortable nervousness and mounting excitement.

"A pleasure to meet you Miss Clark. Have you been taking care of Mr. Kessler throughout the night?"

"Yeah, I work from seven to seven, so I was here when he was brought in and I've been in to check on him throughout the night. I've also been taking care of Miss Robinson in the room next door."

"I see. Now, I understand you're limited in what information you can give me, but anything you can share with me may be of help in finding the person who did this to them."

"Ok, what can I tell you?" she asked eagerly, eyes brightening at the thought of possibly being able to help the incredibly handsome and exotic new hero in his work.

"Did he say anything to you when he was awake?"

"No, not really. The only time he really said anything was when the police were in here with him, and they asked me to leave when they spoke with him, so I didn't hear much of anything. All I do know is that he's scared. That was one of the only things I did hear before I was asked to leave. His vitals have been all over the place, partly from the stress of whatever happened to him last night."

Megamind was quiet for a moment as he thought about the disappointing lack of information he seemed to be getting.

The nurse could easily read the disappointment on his expressive face, and said, "I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful."

Megamind instantly flashed a charismatic smile and said to her, "No, you've been a great help. Now if I could just ask one more thing of you?"

"Sure, whatever you need."

"I'll leave my contact information at the desk. Will you make sure I get a call when he's awake long enough for me to have a conversation with him?"

"Of course! I'm off in a few minutes, but I'll make sure the girls coming in on the next shift know."

"Fantastic! Thank you for your help, Miss Clark."

Megamind turned to head for the nurse's station so he could leave his information for the nurses that would be caring for Colby, Minion following close behind him. As he was walking out the door, he glanced one last time at the man as he lay in his bed, and was surprised to find that his eyes were open, and he was regarding him silently.

He stopped short when he saw this, swinging quickly around to address the injured man. Unfortunately, Minion didn't notice what was going on, and when Megamind stopped so abruptly, there was no time for him to avoid a collision. He ran into the back of his much smaller friend, sending him sprawling.

"Sorry Sir!" Minion squeaked apologetically.

The young nurse standing by the bed giggled for a moment, then quickly regained her composure.

Megamind was on his feet in a fraction of a second, smoothing and straightening his cape. He cast a withering glance at Minion, and then smoothly strode forward to the bedside as though nothing had happened.

"Mr. Kessler, I'm sure I don't need to introduce myself to you. I would like to talk to you about what happened last night."

With that, he gave Sarah a quick glance. She understood instantly, and wrapped up her tasks in a moment.

"I'll come check on you in a bit, Mr. Kessler. Remember to buzz me if you need anything". With that, she scurried out of the room and shut the door behind her.

Colby stared coldly at the blue man and the fish who had come to question him with the one eye that wasn't swollen shut from the horrible beating he'd received. In a weak but belligerent voice he replied, "Why should I tell you anything?"

"Telling me something about what happened will help me find whoever did this to you, for starters."

At the mention of his assailant, a momentary shadow passed over Colby's eyes that Megamind recognized in an instant. _Fear. Cold terror_. Just as quickly as the shadow of fear reflected in his eyes, it disappeared, and the truculent man looked away with a stubborn set to his jaw.

_He's not talking, and I'm getting nowhere_. Megamind decided to try another approach.

"Mr. Kessler, I was there last night, in the room as you were being attacked. I saw the… _person_… that assaulted you and your friend."

When Megamind said this, Colby's eyes snapped back to him, the anxiety and fear glinting freshly as he locked eyes with his questioner.

"I also know you've tried telling the police about him but they're having a difficult time believing your description of him. Mr. Kessler, I want you to know that I believe you. I saw him too. It's essential that I know as much about him as possible, _right now_."

Despite the dread that was compelling him to spill as much information as possible to Megamind, he was still holding back. He looked at him suspiciously, trying to decide if he could trust the new hero with the information he knew he needed, knowing that sharing it would incriminate him in yet another crime.

Being a former bad guy himself of the most sensational caliber, Megamind knew how the criminal mind worked perfectly, and could read the thoughts that were bouncing around inside the head of the drug dealer.

"Listen, I know exactly what you're thinking right now. You need to understand that I'm not a cop; and even though I'm working with them on this, I operate on an entirely different level than they do. My concern at the moment is not you're shady past or your status with the law; I am _only_ concerned with finding the person who did this to you and your friend. That's all."

Minion leaned forward and interjected, "Yes, Sir's being very up front with you. You can trust him completely with anything you choose to tell him."

Colby's eyes glanced back and forth between hero and sidekick, wrestling within his own mind between trusting Megamind and spilling everything, or clamming up tight as a drum. After a moments hesitation, he came to a decision. "Ok. I'll tell what I know."

Colby told them of the harrowing experience in the back room of the drug house. As he spoke, he searched the eyes of the listeners for any sign that they were disbelieving him, and when he found none, he became bolder with the details he chose to share. Megamind and Minion listened attentively, interrupting occasionally with a pertinent question.

By the end of the conversation, Colby seemed spent, and was obviously beginning to feel more and more pain from his wounds. But there wasn't a single detail that had been left out in his story, and the two heroes were momentarily at a loss for words as they mulled the description of the scene around in their minds.

"Well, thank you for your cooperation. We may be back with more questions, but for now you've given a wealth of information to get us started." Megamind said as he rose from the chair at the bedside and started for the door, Minion taking his lead.

As he was leaving, Colby reached out and surprised him by grabbing his leather clad arm in a vice like grip. When he turned back to look questioningly at the criminal, he was disturbed at the haunted look in his eyes.

"He's going to come back for me."

"We won't let that happen, Colby." Megamind responded calmly, hoping that using the man's first name would help him to feel more at ease.

"No, you weren't there… you didn't see. He's going to kill me". His statement was lacking in emotion, without the panic one would expect to find in someone who was in a similar situation. Colby _knew_ he was being hunted, and that's all there was to it. The matter of fact way he spoke sent a chill through both listeners.

"I give you my word, you're going to be fine. We have guards posted outside, and we'll continue to make sure you're never left without someone watching. This guy doesn't have a chance at getting to you. Don't worry, you'll be protected around the clock."

"It doesn't matter." Colby said. When he said this, his eyes glinted dark with terror, and looked like those of a hunted animal.

"I'll make sure they add more security, and I'll be checking in with you personally as soon as I can. Don't worry, you'll be fine." Megamind reaffirmed, and pulled his arm from the grasp of the terrified man as he lay miserably in his bed.

When he heard the reassurances being offered his eyes looked a bit more hopeful, but they were still clouded with doubt and fear. Colby turned his head away and closed his eyes. The pain from his injuries was beginning to become unbearable now, and his mind was clouding from his discomfort. With a shaky hand he reached for the call button to summon the nurse for more drugs; anything she could give him would be a welcome respite from the torture of both mind and body he was living through right now.

Megamind could see that Colby was shutting down, and would be both unwilling and unable to be of anymore help. Before he left, he looked at the pitiful man and felt a stab of regret that there wasn't more that he could do to ease his fears. The trouble was, he had a terrible feeling that Colby Kessler was right, and at this point in time, he wasn't equipped to do much to help him. All he could do was hope that he would have a breakthrough, and nab the villain before he did come back.

* * *

><p>Megamind and Roxanne had standing arrangements to meet that afternoon for lunch at their favorite restaurant. Despite the pressing matters that the two heroes were finding themselves embroiled in, it was nevertheless important to Megamind to take time for his beloved, especially considering her deep concern the previous night. Not that she needed coddling, but he still wanted to keep things as normal as possible so as not to worry her any more than she already was.<p>

Minion, deciding to make use of this time to check in with the officers that were working on the search, dropped Megamind at the café and sped away to attend to his work.

As he stepped out of the invisible car, he immediately saw Roxanne through the window, sitting at their usual table and pouring over her laptop. It seemed that she never rested from her work, which was one of the obvious reasons she was Metro City's top reporter. No matter what time of day or night, her mind was always half absorbed in the story she was working on at the moment, or coming up with some new line of research, or lead for a breakthrough story.

She looked radiant, even though on her day off she was dressed down, wearing jeans and a sweater that fitted her perfectly and showed off her abundant curves. The look of intense concentration on her face added to her beauty as she lowered her brows thoughtfully at the screen on her computer. Her concentration was so fierce, she didn't seem to notice that naughty lock of hair getting into her eyes… _again_.

He crossed the restaurant, soaking up every detail of her as he approached.

"Ollo, Beautiful!" he purred as he walked up to her and placed a kiss on her cheek.

She looked up at him happily and said, "Hey, sweetie. I'm so glad to see you! I was afraid you might not be able to make it today."

"Of course I'm able to make it! Come hell or high water, I'll always be here for you, my dear." he responded with a smile as he sat next to her in the booth.

"I was just perusing the latest news. The city's in a bit of an uproar about last night. Almost makes me wish I was at work; it's tough to sit here doing nothing with all this going on. So, having any luck today?" she asked. Though she spoke lightly, he could see in her eyes that she was still troubled.

"Unfortunately, no. But that doesn't mean a thing; this fellow is as good as caught! All I need is little more time and… information. No worries, Roxanne. We'll have him soon enough." he answered with conviction.

She watched him carefully as he spoke, sizing up his expressions and body language. When he finished, she quipped, "You have no idea what's going on with this thing, do you?"

When she said this, his eyes widened and his mouth momentarily hung slack. _Man, she's a smart cookie. She knows me _far_ too well._

He recovered in an instant, and drew himself up confidently. With his head raised, he looked down his nose at her and said, "No, that's entirely untrue. Of course I have an idea of what's going on. I simply need more information to be able to draw a conclusion that will lead me to the culprit. As a matter of fact, I was at the hospital this morning, and spoke to the man that was injured last night."

"Really? What did he say?"

Not wanting to cause her any concern, he rehashed the story he had been told by Colby earlier that morning, leaving out a few of the more frightening details, as well as his final statement of fear that his life was in danger.

When he had finished, she sat quietly for a moment, and then said, "Wow. That's hard to believe. If you hadn't told me you'd seen this guy too, I'd think Colby was a complete crackpot. So, that was it? Are you sure he didn't say anything else?"

_Why does she have to be so smart? I can't keep a secret from her to save my life! _Not wanting to lie to her, he simply stated,"That was the gist of it. It wasn't a terribly long conversation, and he started to feel his injuries more not long into it, so he became a little less cooperative toward the end."

"Wasn't there another victim? A girl, right? Were you able to talk to her?"

"Well, no. She's still unconscious."

Her eyes widened. "A coma?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Megamind watched her lovely eyes assume that troubled look again, and he reached out to take her hand in his. When they touched, she looked up at him, and her face brightened into a tiny smile.

"Remember last night, I asked you not to worry, and promised that everything was going to be ok?" he asked her.

"Yes, of course." she said, and tried her best to appear unconcerned.

"Well, I meant it; everything will be fine. I mean really Roxanne; have you ever known anyone more brilliant, resourceful, and fantastic than I am? Who else could possibly be capable of wrapping this riddle up into a neat little package, and sending it off to the Prison For The Criminally Gifted, care of the greatest and most handsome defender Metrocity has ever seen?"

When he had finished his animated soliloquy, Roxanne was in stitches at his _oh so humble_ vote of confidence in himself and his capabilities.

"No one but you, Megs." she giggled.

He lifted her hand and kissed her slender fingers, never taking his eyes off hers for a moment. Then, smiling, he said, "That's right! I told you once before that you're the smartest person I know, and here you are proving me right again."

They sat for a while, holding hands and simply beholding one another, too caught up in each other's gaze to notice the other people coming and going around them. After a moment, Roxanne's cheeks began to flush slightly, enhancing the freckles that were sprinkled there, and she looked down with a smile.

As much as he hated to break this spell, Megamind decided that now would be the best time to ask her the question that he and Minion had discussed earlier that morning. Reluctantly, he cleared his throat and said, "Roxanne, I'm curious to know if there was a possibility that the same guy we're looking for now may have disguised himself as me more than once to wreak havoc on the city. Can you think of reports of crimes that I was accused of in the old days that fit the description of what happened last night? Even the tiniest similarity may be significant."

"Wouldn't you be the one to answer that? I would think you'd be the one to know what crimes you had been accused of."

"Well, there were _so_ many, and a few of them were other people casting blame on the baddest boy in town because I was an easy scapegoat. Who would think to question my involvement in any crime pinned on me back then? I was always too involved in my own e-vil schemes to pay attention to them all, so I simply chalked most of them up to free publicity. I didn't mind the petty thugs adding to my infamous reputation."

Roxanne was saddened at hearing her boyfriend talk about being blamed for so many things he didn't do. Not that he didn't do plenty on his own to get himself into trouble… no, he had been _incredibly_ skilled at that; like he said before, he was the baddest boy the city had ever known. But the injustice of it all broke her heart, and what hurt her even more was the fact that he seemed to have accepted it as his due. It made her hot with anger that he had been judged and mistreated so much over the years by everyone, including her at one time.

"You know, I think I do remember a couple of instances, but I don't remember the details. How about if I work on that for you… I'll see what I can find that fits in with last night, and I'll share it with you as soon as I get the research wrapped up. I'll try to have that done for you tonight, tomorrow at the latest."

"That would be fantastic! Roxanne, you couldn't be more perfect." he said as he leaned in and pressed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. When he pulled back, her eyes were still closed for a moment as she blissfully reveled in the memory of his kiss, and when she finally opened them again, she wore a very familiar dreamy eyed smile on her lovely face. _Someone's been hanging around me quite a bit; I'm beginning to rub off on her._

* * *

><p>Colby Kessler woke from a fitful sleep feeling terrible. He had no idea what time it was, although it seemed to be late at night; his room was dark and the halls of the hospital were quiet.<p>

Despite the fact that the doctor who was treating him felt that he was nearly ready to be moved out of ICU, Colby disagreed completely. Every fiber of his body screamed in pain from the abuse he had endured… how long had it been? One, or maybe two nights ago? He wasn't even sure anymore.

The only thing he knew was that he was miserable, and the quack in charge had said that he had been given enough drugs for the night, and had given the order that he was to have no more until the next day. That couldn't be legal, could it? Making someone who was obviously suffering endure their afflictions without the aid of pain medication could be construed as a form of torture, right?

Maybe he could sue the guy, if he survived his injuries long enough to get out of here, that is. Yeah, maybe _that_ could be his ticket to an easy life, since his plan A hadn't worked out very well for him.

His mind involuntarily snapped back to the night it all happened. _Oh god, those eyes, and that voice_. He felt his flesh crawl painfully at the memory. _No! _He wasn't about to let those thoughts wander around loose in his mind again, and shoved them aside almost as quickly as they appeared.

Outside the closed door to his room, he heard a shuffle, and the muted voices and laughter of the officers that had been assigned to guard him. Thank God Megamind was running this show instead of the cops. If not for him, Colby would be dead right now, and even if by some miracle he had made it through that night, it wouldn't be long before the skeleton freak that tried to kill him would finish what he'd started.

Megamind had made good on his word, and come back later in the day with his little fish friend to check up on him, and ask another question or two. While he was there, he checked on the security, and hand picked the cops that would stand guard over him that night. He mentioned that one of them was named Chris… something; and that he was one of the best cops on the force.

Colby didn't give a crap about any of the cops on the force or how "good" they were; in his opinion, they were all a bunch of morons. After all these years, they hadn't been able to do anything to him. He'd never spent more than a few nights in jail despite all the things he'd done, and he hadn't even been careful to cover his tracks.

Since he was brought in, those idiots kept telling him that he was on his way to prison this time around, rather than being released when he was strong enough to be discharged from the hospital. _Yeah, right_. He'd be back out again in a week, easy.

He closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would find him again soon so he could just slip away and not have to deal with his discomfort. It didn't matter how many times he buzzed the nurse to beg and whine for more drugs, they weren't going to give him any; he wasn't even going to bother to ask anymore.

As he lay there willing himself to sleep, he heard a scuffling sound. His first thought was that it was the cops camped outside his door. _How's anyone supposed to sleep around here with them making all that noise?_

He lay quietly for a moment more, but as he did so, he began to realize that the noise he heard seemed to be coming from inside his room, from the opposite corner across from the door. _Wait, that couldn't be the cops._

With that realization, his eyes sprung open wide, straining hard to see in the darkness. He glanced around in a panic, heart pounding furiously as he tried to find the source of the sound.

After a few moments, he began to settle down when he realized that he was alone in the room. His heart was still beating like a drum, but he could feel himself begin to relax. He almost laughed at his own jumpiness when he thought of how ridiculously skittish he was being. _It was probably just the nurse checking on Karli, next door._

He closed his eyes again, suddenly exhausted from the fading rush of adrenaline he had been instantly infused with, and felt himself beginning to nod off. As the bliss of sleep overtook him, he was roused by another sound, louder this time, and closer.

He opened his eyes again in an instant, and tried to raise himself from his bed as best he could, but his attempts at maneuverability were thwarted by the casts and tightly wrapped bandages, as well as the IV tubes and monitors that he was connected to. At best, all he was able to do was raise his head a few inches from his pillow and call out in a tremulous voice, "Is someone in here?"

He waited for an answer, but heard nothing, other than the chatter of the cops in the hallway. _Maybe it was them?_

Colby continued to peer into the darkness, his breathing coming in ragged gasps. Just as he glanced to the left side of his bed, he caught a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye; the curtain wafted gently as though it had been stirred by a breeze. But there couldn't be a breeze. Being the end of November, the windows were shut tight, and at the moment the furnace didn't seem to be pumping warm air into his room. The air was completely still.

His heart was speeding like a runaway train, and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. He tried to calm down, attempting to convince himself that it was nothing. _Maybe I'm having a some sort of a breakdown? _He reached for the buzzer to get the nurse's attention, but his hand was shaking so fiercely, he was unable to control it well enough to push the button.

Just then, he noticed the antiseptic smell of the hospital was replaced by a bitter smell that was so strong, he could taste it on the back of his tongue. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, and he turned to the left by the curtain just in time to see two dull pinpoints of red beginning to gleam in the darkness.

_Oh my god, no! _Colby's heart hammered as though it would explode, and he tried to scream out for help, but when he cried out, the only sound he was able to make was a strangled squeak.

His panic took over; at this point he no longer felt the pain of his injuries. He sat bolt upright and swung his traumatized legs over the side of his bed. Despite being anchored down by the IV and monitor wires, he attempted to bolt for the door and the cops waiting on the other side. As he did so, he felt a hand grip the back of his hospital gown at the neck, and hammer him back onto the bed. A steely arm slammed into his chest and neck, holding him roughly down.

When his senses cleared enough to look around him, he saw, to his horror, the same bony face that had terrified him in that back room.

"Thought you got whisked off to safety by that blue _bad ass_, didn't you?" said the stranger sarcastically, his raspy voice creaking quietly. The gray, skeletal face was inches away. It was twisted dangerously with a look of hatred as the strange purple smoke wafted about, and his red eyes bore into him.

Colby was so filled with terror, his mind had gone numb, and he couldn't think clearly enough to come up with an answer of any kind.

"Oh, poor Colby," he continued in mock sympathy. "feeling a trifle frightened? You should be. Remember, I told you were making a mistake that would get you into trouble, and now that trouble has found you."

Despite the monster pressing him into the bed, Colby finally found his voice, and he made an attempt to speak, "Listen, please… I'll.… "

He was abruptly cut off when his visitor shoved his arm painfully into his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"No, there's nothing to be said; what's done is done. You made your choice last night when you changed your mind, and unfortunately for you, it was a poor one. You know, I can't just let you wander around telling everyone about me."

"I won't, I'm not… "

"Liar! You see, I prefer to fly below the radar, and already you've said far too much, especially to our new hero." he sneered. "And as far as he goes, it's going to be fun to see how quickly I can knock him off his pedestal."

Colby was too shocked at his words to respond. How could he possibly know what he had said to Megamind?

"I know life has been rough on you, Colby… that's why you wanted to meet with me, am I right?"

As he spoke, the mist began to thicken enough to obscure his view of everything in the room except for the man who was peering evilly into his face. The sharp, bitter smell intensified, making it difficult for him to breathe, and he began choking and wheezing. The smell of the smoke seemed to penetrate straight into his brain, and his thoughts began to be muddled and confused.

When his query went unanswered, he continued, his groaning voice icy cold."Well, no worries Colby; that difficult life of yours is something I can easily relieve you of. Yet another one of my… _special_ talents."

As Colby began to twitch and convulse, his mind was sent reeling from the terror of being so close to the monster, and what he knew was about to happen to him. Just as he slipped into unconsciousness, the last thing he heard was that same dry, hollow laughter that had frozen his blood the night before.

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><p><strong>Pretty please review for me? I love your feedback, it gives me the inspiration to keep going! Thank you, x6! :D<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**OK, I just have to say "Sorry!" for my slow pace at updating lately. I have so much going on, it's a miracle I ever get a chance to sit down and write at all! Thanks for your patience, all you wonderful Megamind fans!**

**Just a heads up, the slightly longer delays may continue for a while; I've started a new multi-chapter story that I'm really excited about. It's been bugging me for a while now, and I just had to scratch this itch before it started to drive me a little bit crazy! ;)**

**No worries, I'm not abandoning Secret at all. I'm going to do them both at the same time, but it will probably delay my progress a little bit. Hope you will all check out the new story too; It's called "I'm Not A Hero". So far it's a _really_ fun one!**** :)**

**Alright... so go have fun reading!**

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><p>Megamind awoke to the sound of Minion knocking on the bedroom door. He opened one eye and peeked at the clock… 1:47 AM. Irritably, he lay still and closed both eyes again tight, trying to ignore the sound of his friend's metal fists banging at the wood. <em>If I don't answer him, maybe he'll just go away.<em>

After several moments, it became quite clear that no matter how long he ignored the fish, he just wasn't going to go away. With extreme annoyance, he tossed back the covers and trudged to the bedroom door, attempting to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake his sleeping girlfriend.

He opened the door and peered grumpily at the fish with heavy brows, "This had better be important."

Minion could immediately see the irritation in his weary friend's face, and with a squeak he said, "Sorry Sir, but you have a phone call."

Megamind rolled his eyes, "It couldn't have waited until morning? Do you have _any_ idea what time it is?"

"I know, I really am sorry. But no… it actually can't wait. It's Chris. He says it's important." Minion said apologetically, holding the phone out to the sleepy blue hero.

The instant he heard who was waiting on the line, Megamind's alarms went off in his head. _This can't be good. _Despite his instant concern, he was still tired and half asleep, and not willing to let go of his frustration just yet at being awoken at this ungodly hour.

With a huff, he stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind him, and snatched the phone out of the flustered fishes' robotic hand.

"What?" he snapped, his voice gravelly from sleep.

"Sorry to wake you. I know this is a terrible time to be calling, but you need to know that Colby Kessler was just found dead in his hospital room."

The instant these words registered in Megamind's prodigious brain, all remnants of sleep evaporated in a flash. His eyes grew wide, and he stood silently as he tried to process what the lieutenant just said.

"Are you there, Sir?"

"Megamind, not Sir. And yes, I'm here. What happened? I thought I said I wanted you and Bennett to stand guard last night. Where were you?"

There was a pause, and then the officer responded in a strained voice, "We were here the whole time. No one came in or out, and the widows were locked from the inside."

"When was he found?"

"The nurse found him about ten minutes ago."

"What happened?"

"We don't know yet. There's no visible signs of injury other than what he had when he got here. We're treating it as a crime scene, and the forensics guys are on their way over right now. But at the moment it looks like it's related to what happened to him last night. The doctor thinks his body was just too weak from all the drug abuse, and he just couldn't pull through.

Right off the bat I can't see anything that would indicate that an intruder forced his way in and finished Kessler off. I know no one got past us. We're just going to have to wait for the word from the coroner about the cause of death at this point."

"You didn't see or hear anything odd?"

"No, nothing."

"How about an odor, or smoke?"

"No Sir; I mean Megamind. Why do you ask? Do you know something I should know?"

He stood quietly again, thinking.

"Megamind?"

"Nothing. What about Miss Robinson?"

"She still hasn't woken from her coma."

"Don't let her out of your sight. Someone needs to be with her at all times, and I mean _in the room_ with her. Let me know what you find out about Mr. Kessler as soon as you hear."

"Got it. Are you coming down?"

"No, I'm sure you have it in hand. Just keep me posted."

He closed the phone, and continued to stand silently, staring off into nothing as he mulled the situation around in his mind.

Minion had watched his boss's progressing anxiety with concern, and when the phone was closed and sat clutched in Megamind's hand, he asked, "What happened?"

"Kessler's dead."

"Oh, no."

"I know."

"How?"

"They don't know yet. Chris said there was no sign of intruders or any of that, but I don't think our guy needs to use conventional routes of entry. Judging by the way he just evaporated like that when I fired the De-gun at him, he should be able to enter anywhere he likes without the use of doors or windows."

Minion looked thoughtful. Something had been eating away at him since this whole situation started, and he just couldn't hold it back any longer. "Sir, I know you don't want to tell the police about this guy until we know more, but under the circumstances, I really think you should consider… "

"Listen, I told you I don't want to be held down by their rules, and the moment I bring them into this… "

"They already _are_ in this. They're just as involved in this as you are!" Minion was becoming increasingly frustrated with his ward. _He's so hard headed, I wish he'd just listen to reason!_

"You know what I mean Minion! And, I don't want to share this with them until I have facts, and right now all I have is a crazy story and the word of a drug dealer that they don't believe anyway, who just happens to be dead right now, by the way."

"But that's my point; this changes everything! They need to know. And I think you need to give them a lot more credit than you are. Things are different than they were in the old days, they trust you now. You're the hero, the _Protector of Metro City_! They wouldn't have given you the job if they didn't trust you."

Megamind looked up at his life long friend with a slightly downcast expression. Usually his enthusiasm and positive energy was a force to be reckoned with, but he also had a fragile side that only showed itself when there was something that was incredibly important to him at stake.

His new office as protector of the city he once terrorized on a regular basis had become more important to him than he had ever dreamed that it could when he first accepted the offer to fill that position. Protecting the citizens of the city he had grown to love was second only to his relationship with Roxanne, and his friendship with Minion.

With a deep sigh, he responded to his friend's comment, "I know that, Minion. But I was the bad guy for so long, and there are still so many people out there who don't trust me. They're just waiting for me say or do something wrong so they can point it out to the whole city. I need to know a little more so I have facts to bring to the cops, rather than an incredibly far fetched and unconvincing story."

It hurt Minion to see his boss's rare lack of confidence. He was the most self assured, prideful, and at times arrogant person in Metro City, but even he could fall into a slump at times. The last time this side of his boss had shown itself was shortly before the battle with Titan when he was ready to give up, convinced that his efforts would be useless because _bad guys don't get the girl. _

It was no wonder Megamind was worried about the trust that the MCPD had in him. He had only been the hero for a year after all, and he had a lifetime of bad feelings and mistrust concerning them that he was trying to unlearn. He had come such a long way in that short span of time, but he obviously still had a little way to go to completely break down those walls he had built up over the years. However ungrounded Minion felt his friends feelings were, he couldn't blame him too much for feeling that way.

He decided to approach the subject from a different angle, hoping to convince him using the "back door method", something he had tried on his boss from time to time when he was at his most stubborn, and found that it surprisingly worked more often than not.

"Yes, I can see where you're coming from Sir, and you're probably right. But now that this has happened to that poor man, don't you think we might just have a way to prove to them that there really is someone out there with uncanny abilities? I mean, if there was no way for anyone to go in or out of his room, that seems like a pretty good indicator that something really strange is going on."

Megamind looked at his sidekick, and as he did, Minion could see his wheels turning. _This is good, I'm getting through to him. _

"And lets face it, the PD has to know we're not the only weirdoes hanging around the city. For whatever reason, Metro City has always been a magnet for people of unusual abilities and origins. I honestly don't think it would be too difficult for them to believe you if you decide to tell them what's really going on."

"Maybe, but at the moment, they're leaning toward the idea that he died as a result of his wounds, and not because someone came back for him. If I tell them I think the bad guy turned into smoke and snuck in through the air vents or something like that, they're going to think I've lost it. I don't have to remind you that most of the guys on the force in our fair city aren't the sharpest tools in the shed."

_He does have a point._ Minion was incredibly discouraged. He thought for certain Megamind would see things from his point of view after he explained it using the tried and true back door.

"Well maybe we should go down there and help them? You know, to make sure they're looking in all the right places and doing the investigation right."

"No Minion. I'm the hero, not a cop; that's their job. And Chris is there, he'll make sure things are progressing the way they should. I may grouse about the collective lack of intelligence of the MCPD, but Chris is one of the few that knows what he's doing. If there's anything to find as far as evidence goes, I trust that he will make sure it's found."

Megamind watched his fishy friend's face fall. He knew he had his best interest in mind, and he could certainly see where Minion was coming from, but he just wasn't quite ready to let his reservations drop.

He reached out and put his hand on his friend's furry shoulder. "I'll tell you what, let's wait and see what they find out today. If they do come to the conclusion that he just died from his injuries, then we'll give it a little more time so we can get some facts to back us up. Either way, we'll tell them what's going on soon."

_Well, at least that's something_. Minion knew that if he pushed Megamind any further, he would just become increasingly obstinate, so for now he decided to leave the matter alone. He could always revisit it later. He just hoped his stubborn friend would decide to spill it before something terrible happened, and he could see that's exactly where this was headed from a mile away.

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><p>Bright and early the next morning, the reformed villain and his henchman arrived at the hospital to check with Chris and see how things were progressing. Both were anxious about the outcome of the investigation, but Minion was particularly hopeful that they had been able to find enough evidence to entice Megamind to let go of his reservations about sharing vital information with the cops.<p>

He had stayed awake the remainder of the night, worrying for his friend and trying to come up with an argument that would convince him to listen to reason.

Megamind was incredibly hardheaded, and once he got an idea in that great big brain of his, it was nearly impossible to get him to let go of it, or to see things from a different point of view.

The blue hero was convinced that he was approaching this situation in a wise and well thought out manner. If the situation didn't seem so volatile, he may even be right in his insistence on keeping things close to the cuff for now. But under the circumstances, Minion was terrified that not telling the police right away was going to backfire.

As they walked down the hallway in the ICU wing of the hospital, they could see a flurry of activity as officers began to wrap up their examination of Kessler's room.

Chris was standing among the hustle and bustle, directing his subordinates about what they should do next, and listening to various experts as they shared their findings.

He turned toward them as they approached, and they were slightly shocked to see how haggard he looked. He sported deep dark circles under his eyes, and his slightly thinning hair was rumpled; a far cry from his normally neat appearance. Both friends thought to themselves that he looked quite a bit older this morning, doubtlessly due to the stress of the last few days.

When Chris saw two heroes approach, relief instantly registered in his tired blue eyes.

"I wondered when you'd get here. We were just wrapping things up."

"Already? That was incredibly quick," commented Minion, trying not to show his concern that things seemed to be progressing far too quickly for his liking.

"Well, I drove them like slaves all night. I'm not the most popular guy on the force right now, that's for sure. We've scoured the whole area, and I feel pretty certain we didn't miss a thing."

"Driving the soft headed grunts like slaves? A man after my own heart!" Megamind responded approvingly with a prideful smile. After a moment he seemed to think better of his choice of words and added, "Well, the more villainous version of my heart… before I reinvented myself, of course."

The strained expression on Chris's face crumbled into a smile, and he shook his head as he chuckled at the comedy that so often accompanied a visit with these two.

"So, did you find anything? Any evidence of an intruder?" Megamind asked, suddenly becoming very serious.

Minion looked at the lieutenant with scrutiny, his stomach becoming jittery as he waited for the answer.

"Not a thing. The whole place was clean. Like I said, the windows were locked tight from the inside. There's only one access to the room, and Bennett and I were sitting right in front of it the whole time, wide awake and watching. Not to mention the guys that were watching Miss Robinson's door right next to us.

There was no sign of a struggle, and no injuries except the ones he already had when he was admitted. And not a single finger print to be found. Believe me, I made these guys scour the place more than once… far more than once, for anything that could be considered evidence. We came up with nothing."

When Minion heard this, his jittery stomach seemed to drop to the toes of his mechasuit. He had been hanging his hope on the idea that there would be _something_ there that would be the deciding factor in Megamind fully disclosing his suspicions sooner rather than later.

The two aliens looked at each other; Minion with a look of appeal to his friend's common sense, hoping that he would change his mind and spill it, and Megamind with an expression of stubborn resolve. The blue hero shook his head determinedly and quickly looked away from the fish to let him know there was no use discussing it further, they'd just have to do a little more digging before they approached Chris with their suspicions.

Chris stood watching as this silent exchange took place. No one he had ever met even came close to being as expressive as Megamind; you could read his face like a book, and right now what he was reading was _something's up_.

"Is there… something you want to share with the class?" he asked.

"What? No, not a thing. So is there anything else you can tell me right now?"

Chris looked at him a bit suspiciously for a moment before he continued. "No, we're just waiting for word to come from the coroner about the official cause of death. We put a rush on it so we can get the results back as soon as possible; we should be hearing in a couple of days."

At that moment, Megamind's ringtone sounded; ACDC's Thunderstruck, which was the exclusive tone he had reserved for his calls to heroic duty.

"Ah, looks as though I'm being summoned yet again." he said as he pulled it from the little hidden pocket in his cape.

"Hey, before you answer that, I just want you to know you can trust me." Chris said as he looked back and forth between the hero and his sidekick.

He was met with two completely different stares. Minion's was filled with relieved excitement, but Megamind's was lost somewhere between hopefulness and apprehension.

He really felt for the former villain, his infamous reputation had been so hard for him to live down. After a year of working tirelessly to defend the city and it's citizens, most of the city had been won over whole heartedly by their charismatic protector. But there were still those who didn't trust him and seemed to live their lives for no other purpose than to point out his mistakes and make him look bad.

"Listen, everything that happened back then, it's in the past. I know you've changed; you've proven yourself at least a hundred times over. This whole situation may look pretty straight forward right now, but I have a feeling that something else is going on, and I've been doing this for too long to ignore these feelings. If you do have any information, you can share it with me."

The apprehension on Megamind's face relaxed for just a moment. He reached out to give the lieutenant a friendly pat on the arm and said, "Thank you, that's good to know. I do have some ideas, but I think I need to find out a little more first."

The entire time this exchange was taking place, Thuderstruck continued to repeat rather obnoxiously, echoing throughout the halls of the hospital.

"I've got to get this. We'll be in touch soon." As he finished his response, he was already turning to head down the hall toward the exit, phone at his ear as he sized up his next call to action.

Minion stood a moment longer looking quite exasperated. He shot a final concerned glance at Chris, and then followed his partner down the hall.

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><p>The call that the hero and his sidekick had been summoned to was at a jewelry store in the historic Old Town district of Metro City. Lincoln Jewelers was and old and respected business, which had attracted the patronage of Metro City's upper crust citizens for ages, including the Scott family.<p>

As Megamind and Minion sped their way to the call, they passed the old market which had been the site of the robbery that was the beginning of everything they found themselves dealing with now. How incredibly coincidental to be called just a block away from the very place that started it all, and today of all days.

Pulling up, they were disappointed to see that the police had already responded, which meant the possibility that it was already too late for the heroes to be of much help in stopping a crime or emergency in progress. If the MCPD was feeling brave enough to be working the scene rather than waiting on the heroes to do the dirty work, it usually meant that whatever had been happening when Megamind had received the call was probably over and done with by now. If that was the case, it also meant that the duo now had the aggravating job of babysitting the slightly clueless Metro City police to make sure they were doing _their_ job correctly.

Lacking the super speed that Metro Man had used to his advantage in his hero work, it was sometimes difficult for them to travel from one end of the city to the other in record time, which bothered Megamind immensely. He had recently begun brainstorming ideas to come up with another one of his amazing inventions that would alleviate that problem, getting them from point A to point B in a flash.

Despite the underlying worry, the excitement and anticipation of a rescue call rejuvenated most of Megamind's confidence and swagger on the ride over. When the invisible car pulled to a stop and the former diabolical duo jumped out to assess the situation, he strutted like a rooster as he headed for the entrance of the store.

Upon approaching the front door however, he passed a group of cops who stood outside the entrance, taking notes as they interviewed witnesses. Megamind addressed the officers by name as he sidled by, clapping some them on the shoulder in his usual friendly fashion, but rather than answer back with the typical joking he expected, both the officers as well as the citizens they spoke to looked at him with tense, almost suspicious expressions as they walked past.

There was more of the same as they entered the building; gone were the usual looks of excitement and appreciation, and the room became too quiet as they walked through. The tension in the air was so thick, it seemed difficult to breathe, and nervous faces cast sidelong glances at the two as they made their way to the back of the establishment.

The store itself was torn up considerably. Glittering shards and flecks of broken glass from mirrors and cases were littered everywhere, and it was obvious that the thief had pretty well cleaned out the precious stock that had been lovingly tucked inside each of the once beautiful displays.

"I wonder what happened to get everyone so tense? Did the dispatcher say anything to you when he called?" Minion whispered out of the side of his mouth as he looked around and took in the strange scene.

Megamind rolled his eyes and answered with a sigh, "No, they _never_ do! All they said was where to show up. They just expect us to roll up and fix everything without having the slightest idea of what's going on, just like our predecessor did. When are they going to realize our weapon is brains, not brawn? We need to know the situation before hand so we can think our way through rather than just flying in and knocking the bad guys flat without distressing a lock of our perfect hair like that empty headed quitter."

"Sir, I can remember _plenty_ of things, not just bad guys, you've knocked flat since you've been the hero, and we don't even have any hair… "

"Ughhhh, Minion… that's not the point! What I'm _trying_ to tell you is no, they almost never tell me what's happening when we're called for a rescue, and they certainly didn't start now. I have no idea what's going on, or why everyone's so uptight."

They heard muted voices coming from a short hallway at the very back of the establishment, and as they turned the corner, they saw Lieutenant Crandall, a grandfatherly detective who was coming close to retirement. He was talking to an older man and a young woman, both of whom seemed incredibly shaken up. It was obvious that this was the owner of the jewelry store and one of his employees.

The two were completely engrossed in telling their story, and didn't see the duo as they approached. EMT's were hovering around the older gentleman, fussing over him with their instruments, though from a distance he didn't seem to be hurt.

Just as Megamind and Minion had stepped around the corner, Crandall turned and saw them. He quickly excused himself, and with an odd look at the officer who was accompanying him, he hurried back and motioned for the pair to follow him.

"Crandall, what's going on? Why's everyone so uptight? It just seems to be a standard robbery, no need to get upset. Minion and I will have the culprit in hand in short order."

When Crandall heard this, his brows knitted and he looked down, and to the side; seemingly unsure of what to say next.

"What? Was that man in there hurt? He looked alright to me… " Minion began.

"No, he's fine." answered the aging officer, looking at the fish uncomfortably.

"Oh, good to know." Megamind interjected. "So, let's get down to business. Give us as many details as you can about what happened here so Minion and I can get this wrapped up for you. Do you have a description of the suspect?"

"Um, yes. Well, we do but… "

"Ok, go. Tell me everything."

"Well, the way the suspect is described by the witnesses, it seems that… um, he seems to match… "

Megamind gave an amused laugh at the detective's nervousness. He couldn't help but think how funny it was the way some people stammered all over themselves when in the presence of a celebrity, especially one of _his_ magnitude.

"Hey, no need to get tongue tied! Just tell us what the guy looked like, and Minion and I will have him rounded up for you in record time."

Crandall looked between fish and genius uncomfortably. His expression was one of someone who would do just about _anything_ to be anywhere else but right here, right now. When he spoke, the look in his eye shifted a bit, and took on a slightly harder edge. "Well, going by the description given to us by the witnesses, the suspect is… well, it's you."

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! And I'm not above begging, so please review? Pretty, pretty please?<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow, this little chapter took so much longer than I thought! I've been picking away at this for weeks with frustration… I seem to be suffering from a touch of writer's block! LOL! **

**Well, here it is finally; hope you'll enjoy it! This chap deals more with everyone's reactions and emotions. The next chapter will be dealing again with our new villain; getting another chance to see what naughtiness he's up to. It's already under way… I've been working at it off and on all week, and all afternoon today so I'm **_**hoping**_** the wait for the next installment won't be nearly as long. *Fingers crossed!***

**Thanks to my wonderful friend Nora for looking it over for me, and thanks to all the readers who have been patiently waiting for so long for me to update. Thank you also to everyone who has reviewed my stories, and in particular I'd like to say thank you to all of my anonymous reviewers whom I can't thank personally through private message. Every kind word is an inspiration to me, and so very much appreciated! You guys are all amazing!**

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><p>When Megamind heard this, he was stunned. He stood staring with widened eyes at the lieutenant for a moment, trying to absorb the piece of information he had just heard. <em>Maybe I heard him wrong?<em>

"Hold on a minute. Say that again… _who_ did you say the suspect is?"

Crandall again assumed that uncomfortable expression, and nervously began to glance about the room and then back to Megamind, looking as though he was trying desperately to find any excuse to bail himself out of this situation. He had been dreading having to tell the new hero and his sidekick that he had been accused of robbing the jewelry store.

"Well, when we were questioning Mr. Lincoln about the robbery and asked him to give us a description of the thief, he said it was you. And there's no way he could have mistaken someone _else_ for you, you're the only blue guy in black leather around."

Megamind was absolutely floored. He stared blankly at the lieutenant for another moment, and then uttered incredulously, "You've got to be kidding…"

"Um, no.…"

"That's ridiculous! You must have heard him wrong."

"No, my partner and I were both standing there when he gave us a description, along with all those EMT's that are in there right now, and we all heard him clearly. We have his statement down word for word."

"Well then he's incredibly confused, because Minion and I were on the other side of town at the hospital with Lieutenant O'Donnell when the store was robbed."

"He didn't say anything about Minion being here, just you." said the officer, and although he appeared to be regretful and incredibly uncomfortable at his responsibility of breaking the news to the former villain, his expression seemed slightly leery.

"Now hold on, you don't really believe that, do you? We really were at the hospital with Chris, all you have to do is call him and ask." Minion broke in, his patience beginning to lapse as he listened to the progression of the conversation. "He'll confirm that we were there, and so will at least a dozen other detectives who were there with us this morning."

"I'm not saying I believe him, I'm just telling you what Mr. Lincoln and his grand daughter said. They were both here working during the robbery; they said they saw everything and had a pretty clear look at the thief."

"Well it obviously wasn't me, it couldn't be me, right? I'm the hero now!" Megamind said lightly with a chuckle, hoping that Lieutenant Crandall would share his amusement at the ridiculous accusation, but the only response he received was a confused stare from the detective, who obviously didn't know what to make of this turn of events.

"Look, just call O'Donnell and talk to him, he'll confirm that I was with him this morning." Megamind huffed in frustration.

"Already on it, we're waiting for a return call right now." said the officer. As he said this, he continued to look searchingly at Megamind, plainly trying to decide whether or not to believe his assurances that he was innocent.

As if on cue, Crandall's partner poked his head around the corner and called out, "Got the call back; it checks out… he was there." He turned back to finish his work questioning Mr. Lincoln, but before he did, he stole an uncertain glance at the hero and his sidekick.

"Well there you go! You have your confirmation now, so we can proceed with looking for the real culprit before too much time passes." Megamind said eagerly with a _no hard feelings _smile and a relieved chuckle.

Crandall forced a smile when he heard Megamind's offer to help, but he once again looked nervously around the room, and then rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, he said with a cringe, "Yeah, well… all things considered, we can't have you help with this one. Even though O'Donnell confirmed that you were with him, Mr. Lincoln is still pretty convinced it was you. To put it plainly, he's just not going to want you helping with this, you know? I'm sure you can understand. We just need to figure this out before we ask for your help on this case. It's nothing personal, it's just… "

"No, no… I understand. No need to explain any further." Megamind answered as he dismissively held up a hand, and although his voice was light and his answer was understanding, the look on his face betrayed his dismay that he was being asked in a round about way to leave.

"Listen, as soon as we figure things out we'll let you know, ok?" Crandall quickly asserted.

"You got it Crandall! Just let me know when you're ready for me to help and Minion and I will be on it." Megamind said with an attempt at sounding enthusiastic.

As the Hero and his sidekick turned to go, they once again took in their surroundings. This time the understanding of what was at play here made the scene of the crime seem far more worrisome and dangerous. All the broken glass and cases knocked askew from their original arrangements, the random, wanton destruction throughout the little shop and the nervous glances of the officers on the scene only added to the anxiety that hung heavily in their hearts.

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><p>"Oh my <em>God<em>, Megamind! Why are you so stubborn? Can't you see this whole thing could have been avoided if you'd just told the police everything from the beginning? You _have_ to learn to trust; things are so different now than they were a year ago… even six months ago. The police trust you now; you need to be able to work with them in these situations. You've got to realize you can't do everything on your own"

As soon as Megamind heard the word _can't_, his blue face assumed an indignant look and he snapped, "I can do anything I want to Roxanne; the entire collective intelligence of the PD in this city equals less than _half_ of the intellect I possess. It can be very easily argued that Metrocity would be better off if I do keep these things to myself and take care of problems like this on my own!"

Roxanne watched as her boyfriend turned and crossed the room to his favorite chair, and sat down with a plop, turning so he was hidden from her view by the chair's tall leather back. She turned to look at Minion, who, catching her glance, could do nothing more than shrug and shake his body inside his dome.

The fish was at a frustrated loss as to what could possibly be done to convince the former villain to trust the police with the important information that they alone held. After going round and round with him about this all day, he had essentially given up for the time being. When Megamind hit one of his moods, there was no reasoning with him, and he was certainly in one of his moods right now; quite possibly one of the worst moods Minion had ever seen. "_But," _the ever optimistic spacefish reminded himself, "_tomorrow's another day. I'll try again then…"_

Despite her heart wrenching in her chest, Roxanne worked up enough strength to give her little friend a reassuring smile and whispered, "I've got him Minion, don't worry. It'll be ok."

When Minion heard her soothing words, he relaxed visibly, and with a tired smile and a nod, he said, "Well Sir, this has been quite a day… I think I'm going to turn in. No worries, I'm sure this whole thing will blow over soon enough."

"Yes, I'm sure it will. Good night, Minion." came a dejected voice from the other side of the leather chair back.

With a final glance at Roxanne, Minion turned to go, leaving his best friend in the capable hands of the only person in the world who may just be able to talk some sense into him.

When Minion was out of sight, Roxanne turned her eyes toward the black leather chair with concern. Of all the things she could have said to Megamind, _can't_ was one of the worst, and as soon as the word had left her lips, she had regretted it. He was so much like her in that way; neither one of them appreciated being told _no,_ or _you can't_. It was always taken as a challenge, and at times produced the worst possible results, inciting them to stubbornly do the exact opposite of what the voice of reason was trying to accomplish.

She decided to try another approach with him, hoping that gentleness rather than a lecture would soften his heart and encourage him to see things more clearly.

She stood and walked across the room toward her hero who was sitting moodily with his back to her. When she came around the chair, she was taken aback by the dismal expression he wore. He sat slumped in his chair with his chin resting on his hand, and his gaze was distant and miserable as he stared blankly at the bank of monitors and dials in front of him.

When she approached him, she reached out to move his hands out of the way and encourage him into a more convenient position, and then sat on his lap, cuddling as closely as she could and nuzzling into his neck. As she settled in, he put his arms around her and rested his cheek against her head, closing his eyes at the feeling of her closeness. They sat holding each other silently for a long moment, heavy hearts taking comfort in the simple fact that they were together.

"I'm sorry, Megs. I shouldn't have lectured you like that; that's the last thing you need from me right now." she said, her heart aching for him so deeply it was difficult to breath, let alone put her thoughts into words.

When he heard her, Megamind was overtaken with a rush of affection for his girlfriend. She hadn't done anything wrong; in fact, she was right, about everything… but despite that, she came to him to apologize. How had he been so lucky to win the love of this amazing woman; a woman that any normal man would dream of and hope for?

But here he was, a blue, bald, big headed, former villain who was about as far away from being _normal_ as anyone could possibly be, and yet she had fallen for _him_. Despite his mistakes and his stubbornness, she was always there to support him, and to love him, and to forgive him. What the hell would he do without her?

He tightened his arms around her tenderly to bring her even closer and said, "No, I'm sorry I snapped at you. You're right again, you know? How do you do that all the time?"

"Do what?"

"How is it you're nearly always right about these things?"

She readjusted herself so she could look up into his emerald eyes and smiled. "I'm not always right, you've set _me_ straight a time or two yourself."

He chuckled and asked dubiously, "When was the last time I had to set _you_ straight?"

Although Roxanne hated to bring up anything that would remind him of her occasional slip ups, she swallowed her pride and said, "The other night for one, at the old house in Lakewood when I was, well … um… exercising my skills in investigative journalism… "

Megamind let out a loud laugh when he heard her trying to retell the story of the other night with her own spin on what really happened and said, "You were sneaking across the police perimeter! Don't try to polish it up to make yourself sound less like the impossibly stubborn and nosey woman you are, Miss Ritchi."

She was relieved to see a bit of the mischievous spark glimmering in his eyes again, so she giggled and said, "My _tricks_… won't work… on you, huh?"

With a chuckle he answered, "Not a chance! Actually, now that you mention it, I can think of _several_ more instances… "

"Hey, stop it! I was giving one, specific example… you don't need to go dredging up _all_ the times you've had to set me straight!"

They both laughed as she settled back in on his lap, snuggling down more deeply this time, and resting her head on his chest. Roxanne smiled as he tenderly kissed her hair and forehead while she reached up to run a finger along his angular jaw line. She contentedly soaked in the warmth of his arms around her and listened to the soft sounds of his breathing mingling with the beating of his heart. Why couldn't moments like this last longer? She wished her brainy beau would invent a gadget that could do just that, stop everything at the most perfect moment, stretching it out and making it last longer so it could be lingered over and treasured more completely.

Though she regretted having to bring them back to the reality of the difficulties at hand, she took a deep breath and asked quietly, "What are you going to do?"

The instant the question was asked he became very still, and Roxanne could feel him tense a bit. He sat quietly for a long moment; so long, she began to think he wasn't going to answer her. She began to wonder if she had made a mistake bringing it up again so soon after their disagreement, but she knew that this had to be worked out, sooner rather than later.

Just when she was about to ask him again, he sighed deeply and said in a tired voice, "I don't know."

"Sweetie," she said gently, "I know you don't want to talk about it with the police until you have more information, and I understand why you feel that way… but things have changed. I'm afraid this is going to happen again, and I know the same thoughts are going through your mind too; you said so yourself. It's _so_ importantto let them know what's happening so they can be prepared. We want to make sure they're looking for the right man, and that you're protecting yourself in the process, right?"

"Well you're the one who keeps telling me they trust me, so I _should_ be able to take the time to do this my way… " he said, his voice betraying more of his irritation with the situation than he intended.

Roxanne had to close her eyes and breathe deeply for a moment to ease her frustration with her boyfriend. He knew that what he was saying right now wasn't feasible or rational; he had only moments ago admitted to her that she was right. He was just grasping at straws to be as difficult as possible because of the tension he was feeling, one of his typical reactions when he felt pressured or backed into a corner and out of options. But she took heart in the fact that despite his tendency to be difficult in moments like this, it was never long before he would realize what needed to be done and accept the task, tackling whatever it was head on with determination and setting things right.

When she felt steadied enough to prevent herself from impatiently snapping at him, she sat up and looked at him with an expression of deep worry and said, "Megamind, do you think they're going to be able to continue trusting you if this guy keeps blaming you so effectively for the crimes he's pulling off? You were lucky today that you happened to be with someone who can vouch for you; but if he's serious, and I think he is, it's only a matter of time before he does something that you won't have an alibi for."

"And you being so secretive is going to damage their trust in you, too. They're going to see that you're keeping quiet about something because… well, frankly, you're pretty transparent. It doesn't take much for people to read you, sweetheart. They're going to see that you're being oddly reserved and holding something back, and with all this going on they're going to start to see it as suspicious."

Megamind's chest felt heavier with every word she said. He knew she was right, and he was afraid that it was already too late. What if him waiting for so long to give the cops vital information about the case had already planted the seeds of distrust in his new relationship with them? But on the other hand, he was afraid that the very information he held back would seem so ludicrous, they would immediately think he was out of his mind or worse; making up ridiculous stories to cover his tracks. Either way, he was worried sick that he was screwed.

"What do you think I should do, Roxanne? This is a mess no matter how I look at it, and part of that is _my_ fault because I'm too hard-headed to listen to you and Minion when I should."

She watched him as he spoke… the full force of his emotion was unleashed in his emerald eyes; he looked so unsure of himself, almost lost. She could only imagine the pain and worry he must be feeling. He tried so hard to be the best hero Metro City had ever seen, and he took his new roll to heart. Everything he did and each decision he made was carefully considered with the best interest of the citizens in mind.

She knew that he had tried to make the best decision he could in this situation too, but nothing seemed to be going as he had hoped. Being excluded from helping with the jewelry store case earlier that morning had shaken his confidence and hurt him deeply, even if he wouldn't openly admit to feeling that way.

Looking into those big, sad, wounded green eyes reminded her of the night she left him in the rain on that street corner. Her heart ached with sadness for him, and she wished there was a way for her to take on all of that pain for him to ease his burden.

She leaned in close and rested her forehead to his, closing her eyes and willing as much of her strength to him as possible, hoping that he would understand how much she believed in him. She kissed his brows and temples and the corners of his eyes tenderly, and then pulled away so their eyes could meet.

She smiled at him reassuringly as she brought up a gentle hand to stroke his blue cheek and said, "I love you, Megamind; everything about you… _including_ your stubbornness and your determination to do things your way. Yes, I have to admit there are times it can be incredibly frustrating, and that it can get you into more than a little trouble, but it's also one of the most _amazing_ things about you. Along with that big heart of yours, it's part of what gives you the strength to keep fighting and never give up."

"Honey, I've seen you win out over incredible odds so many times since you became a hero because of that stubborn determination. But… you need to be able to balance that out by remembering that the people in your life that care about you are here to help you, and that you don't have to deal with these things alone. And that circle of people who care about you includes all your new friends on the force.

"You asked me what I think you should do. Well, first I have to say that the final decision is yours; all I can do is share my thoughts with you. But I do think you should talk to the police and share everything you know with them. At _least_ talk to Chris. Bringing them in on what you know will be better all around for everyone, and will help get this guy caught sooner if you and the police can work together."

He squinted his eyes at her and with a shake of his head he said, "Ughhh, I knew you were going to say that!"

She smiled, and with a tiny chuckle she answered, "Look who's being predictable now. I Guess we've rubbed off on each other quite a bit."

He managed to give her the tiniest smile, but immediately his brows knitted together and he asked, "Are you sure they'll believe me?"

Now it was her turn to wrinkle her brow at his question. She looked away for a moment and said, "No, I can't guarantee that they will… I wish I could. But I think if you talk to them as soon as possible there's a pretty good chance that they will."

She looked back at him and smiled, her eyes alight with affection and earnestness, and she said, "But even if they don't, I believe in you, and so does Minion. We'll work it out together; try not to worry. No matter what happens, you'll always have me… _nothing_ can change that."

Her confidence in him soothed his aching heart, and he smiled at her and pulled her close. He held her for a few moments without saying anything, too moved by the strength of her commitment to him to even begin to find the right words to tell her how much her loved her and how thankful he was to have her in his life. He knew he really didn't need to say a word, she already knew exactly how he felt.

After a few moments, Roxanne asked quietly, her voice betraying a glimmer of the concern that she still held on to, "So will you do it? Will you talk to them? If for no other reason, will you do it for me?"

His smile grew when he heard her query. He squeezed her reassuringly and answered, "Yes, I'll tell Chris first… I'll talk to him first thing in the morning."

At his assurance that he would take care of everything tomorrow, she smiled and allowed herself to completely relax, snuggling deeply into his arms and closing her eyes with relief. _Oh thank God. This is going to be ok. Tomorrow, everything will be different._

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><p><strong>Thanks again for reading! I can't express how much I appreciate you checking out my stories… I really hope you're having fun. <strong>

_**Please**_** be sweet and review for me… maybe your kind reviews will be just the medicine I need to break through this darn writer's block! **_**Pretty please **_**let me know what you think ; you'll be bringing a bright smile to my face and giving me a good old burst of creative energy to help me keep this story going!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh wow, this one was a killer! Didn't think I'd ever get it finished, but here it is. Hope you'll have fun with it!**

**I'm already working on chapter 10, but my time for writing is very limited with kids in sports and all the many demands of real life; I'm hoping for it to go smoothly so I can get the next installment up quickly, but … eh, we'll see how it goes. LOL!**

**Just a quick note; my good friend and beta, Nora Salisbury, started an online petition stating that we refuse to spend any more money on **_**any**_** Dreamworks movies or merchandise other than Megamind swag until DW officially announces their intention to make a sequel for our favorite blue Hero, complete with a target date for it's release. **

**My guess is that if you're here reading this story, you must be more than a casual fan of our handsome spaceman, so **_**please**_** head on over to the petition site and take a few moments to sign and give Megamind a lot of love (and DW a piece of your mind)! Thanks Mega-fans, you guys are all the best! **

**Ok, have fun reading! Don't forget to tell me what you think! Pssst… that means **_**pleeease**_** leave me a review, or I'll be very sad! It can get lonely out here when I don't hear from you!… **_***flashing the puppy dog eyes***_**… See? Now you can't resist, can you? ;)**

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><p>Tom Nygard was working the graveyard shift… he <em>hated<em> working the graveyard shift. Being the veteran security guard at the bank, His boss had asked him nearly a month ago to switch his shift to night time hours for a while so he could train the new guy. Despite wanting to tell his boss _exactl_y where he could go when he heard the dreaded question, Tom had swallowed his immediate reaction and reluctantly agreed.

He now sat at his desk in the security office at Metro Savings and Loan, watching the minutes tick slowly by and trying to stay awake. This was an atypical night; Tom was working the shift alone. His co-worker had called in sick, leaving him stuck holding down the fort.

Working the night shift was bad enough, but working it all by himself was terrible. The hours seemed to drag by… the last time he had looked at the clock, it read 3:54am. Now, what seemed like hours later, it was only 4:15. No, it couldn't have been less than half an hour since he last looked, could it?

Tom shook his head and returned his attention to the book he had brought along to help him pass the hours. With a stellar effort, he attempted to lose himself in the story, but his exhaustion was so complete at this point, he could barely see the words on their pages, much less get his mind in the story.

He stretched, and with a yawn he rubbed his hand down his face and back up through his hair. He knew that if he sat still any longer, he would probably nod off. If he was going to finish this night with his eyes open, he needed to get up and get moving… and coffee; he needed _lots_ of coffee.

The tall, burly man stood and gave one final stretch to work the kinks out of his legs and back after sitting for so long, and grabbed the essential tools of his trade; flashlight and travel mug. With a quick pit stop at the coffee pot on his way out the door, he filled his cup and was off to stretch his legs and give the building a good once-over while he was at it.

Leaving the security office and stepping into the short hallway that connected to the main lobby, he remembered why he preferred to pass his nights in the close quarters of the back room. As his footsteps on the marble floors echoed through the cavernous space as he entered the lobby, and the relative darkness of the room cast long shadows in the beam of his flashlight and the single strategically placed light that was left on after hours, he couldn't help but think how creepy it was in the building at night, especially when working alone.

As quickly as that thought entered his mind, he ushered it out again. No sense getting his imagination all worked up now, not when he still had three and a half hours left to go on his shift. Working all night was bad enough, but working alone was even worse, and working the night shift alone and scared shitless made for the worst working conditions possible. Without realizing at first what he was doing, he reached down and placed his hand on the bulk of the sidearm strapped to his waist, thankful that he had never been forced to use it while on the job, but reassured by its presence... just in case.

All things considered, Tom knew he really had no reason to be fearful. Metro City had become a much safer place in the course of the past year since Megamind had taken the place of hero. If he had to work the graveyard shift, now was really the best time to do it. A year or two ago, these would have been the most dangerous hours to work in Metro City. You were practically _begging_ to be robbed working the night shift in those days.

Not to say that Metro Man wasn't fantastic at being the hero when he was on the job, but he was always so incredibly preoccupied with his rivalry with Megamind, he sometimes neglected to show up to the smaller disturbances that were always popping up around the city. It was easy to get lost in the shuffle when the former Hero in White was always mixed up in another round of rescue Roxanne Ritchi from the Master of All Villainy.

Criminals all over the city waited with baited breath for Megamind's latest schemes to be unleashed, knowing that was their golden opportunity to get away with nearly anything they wanted. And it was often a given that working odd hours in Metro City would make you a prime target to be victimized in one way or another. Metro Man often tended to avoid the calls that came out in the wee hours of the night; preferring to allow the police department to handle those situations themselves unless it was a true crisis of some kind.

But now with Megamind as resident hero, things were much different. Having once been the baddest of the bad, the criminals in town were terrified to step on his toes… just knowing that stirring up trouble would warrant a visit from the former villain was enough to deter most crimes from even being started to begin with. And the new hero made sure that those who were dumb enough to forge ahead with their acts of mayhem seriously regretted it later, sending out a crystal clear message for the other thugs in the city.

His train of thought ambled on to the memory of the evening well over a year ago, when the current hero was still public enemy number one. Despite the fuzziness of the image, Tom recalled the way Megamind stormed in to the rescue when his very own, personal victim had been taken hostage, along with himself and a dozen or so other citizens.

Although the villain had asserted in no uncertain terms that he was merely protecting his turf in his act of coming to the aid of the pretty reporter and the other hostages, it was obvious then to all present that there was something far more at play. The way he that had looked at Miss Ritchi, not to mention the way she gazed back at him, the way he held her to comfort her in her distress, and the kiss she graced him with when all was said and done left little doubt in the mind of the astute security guard that something far deeper than anyone in the city had ever suspected was going on between the villain and their favorite reporter.

He remembered the surprise he felt at the incredibly heroic and never before seen side Megamind had shown that day, and although Minion had used the… what did they call it? Oh, the Forget-me Stick… on the hostages that had witnessed the show, the memory had come back to him, albeit a bit cloudy, upon hearing of the true heroics that the former villain had shown during the battle with Titan. When he considered everything he had seen that day, Tom wasn't a bit surprised to discover that the once fearsome villain had become the city's new champion, nor was he a bit shocked to find out about the blossoming romance between Ms. Ritchi and the new hero.

Despite knowing he was working in a city carefully guarded by Metro City's greatest defender, Tom couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness as he walked through the dark, lonely bank. The immensity of the silent building was magnified by the loud thunk of his footsteps as they echoed off the marble walls and floors, and the swish of his pants as he moved would have reminded him of the huffing breaths of something sinister hiding behind one of the thick pillars if he wasn't trying with every ounce of his will power to keep those lurking thoughts at bay. _Knock it off, Tom! You're a grown man, stop acting like a scared six year old. Man, Evan had better hurry up and kick that flu, because I'm going to _kill _him if he leaves me to do another shift alone like this! _

As he walked along, his eyes roved over the expansive lobby, taking in the teller's counter and the rows of mahogany desks that looked like dark, colorless lumps in the gloom. The beam of his flashlight threw menacing black shadows behind each object, causing the hairs on the back of Tom's neck to stand up in his already heightened state of trepidation, and making him wish he'd made a stop at the men's room before he proceeded with his chore. Much to his regret, he was discovering that a coffee soaked bladder and an over-active imagination were simply _not_ a very good mix.

As he passed by the courtesy kiosk, well stocked with deposit slips and pens for bank patrons, he caught to his left out of the corner of his eye a single piece of paper as it slipped from a desk and floated to the floor. His heart rate quickened ever so slightly, and he felt a distinct quivering feeling begin in his knees as he froze in his place and snapped the beam of light toward the desk, sweeping it in all directions. Despite his nervous but thorough search of the immediate area, everything seemed normal; not a soul but himself stood in the massive space.

With an edgy sigh, he gave one last glance at the desk and moved on, ready to finish his walk around and get back to the bathroom, his book, the coffee pot, and a solid, locked door for the next few hours until the morning shift arrived to relieve him. Thank goodness he didn't bring along the new thriller he had been planning to start reading and opted instead for that autobiography his mom had been bugging him to finish for months… he'd never make it through the night if he'd started reading something scary while he miserably trudged through this lonely and slightly nerve wracking shift.

Taking several more paces forward as he neared his goal; the front door, and the signal that his single sweep of the premises was over and it was blessedly time to turn around and start heading back, he heard a rustle followed by the shuffling sound of more papers falling from a height. He instantly felt a swift shot of adrenaline as his already tightly strung nerves were stretched even tighter, and his heart began to race as he spun around in an instant and caught in his beam a whole stack of documents as they cascaded to the floor from the same desk.

Once again he swished his flashlight back and forth, but his search revealed nothing; no one in the room with him and not a single indication as to what could have knocked the papers from their resting place. Despite his increasing agitation, Tom forced himself to breathe evenly and to calmly take stock of the situation.

It was entirely possible that the papers had been precariously balanced by the owner of the desk the day before, and as he walked by a moment ago there was just enough of a disturbance created in the air to knock loosen the stack, sending it sprawling to the ground. _Yeah, there's no one else here, so that _has_ to be it. It's ok, nothing to worry about… _

After giving himself his nominally-effective pep talk, the guard decided that for the sake of his self esteem, he should probably make a quick stop at the men's room and then get back to the locked door and bright, protected confines of the security office before he pissed his pants with fright. The rest of the guys would _never_ let him live it down if he peed his pants because he was scared of the dark. Crap, it would be so bad for him around here after that, he'd probably have to look for another job.

Despite his trepidation at crossing the long, dark lobby and passing by the desk where the papers had moments ago tumbled from their perch, he took a deep breath and resolutely pushed ahead, knowing this wouldn't be over until he braved the dark lobby and found his way to the lighted safety of his office. He walked forward slowly, the beam of his flashlight wavering and dancing as his hands trembled with anxiety.

Approaching the desk, he swallowed and crept cautiously forward, his eyes scouring the area once again for a suspicious form hidden nearby. To his relief, the area appeared completely empty even when he turned his flashlight to the neighboring work stations. Just to be certain, Tom repositioned the beam to illuminate the dark space beneath the desk… no one. _Thank God._

Feeling a bit more at ease, he picked up his pace and began to trudge his way across the lobby, eyes focused on the dim light leaking from the hallway that led to the coveted safety of his office. With each step he took that drew him closer to his goal he grew bolder, and a relieved smile began to play at the corner of his lips. He even chuckled as he thought about his panic a moment ago. _Man! I can't believe I just lost it like that!_

As he neared the huge marble pillar near the teller's counter, he felt nearly recovered from his fright. He began to regain a spring in his step as he closed in on the gate separating the main lobby from the counter and the hallway leading to the office and other back rooms that lay hidden from the clients that frequented the bank. Knowing light and safety were mere steps away gave him a feeling of security and lifted the burden of fear from his shoulders.

Reaching out to swing the gate aside so he could pass, he noticed an odd, pungent smell in the air, and thought for a moment he heard a soft rustle directly behind him. As the strange smell seemed to grow stronger, his head began to swim, and his vision blurred in and out. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind and blinked hard as he attempted to banish the haziness. _Whoa, I must have had more caffeine tonight than I realized. _

After a moment, the episode seemed to pass; the smell had vanished and the strange feeling in his head was gone as quickly as it had appeared. He felt fine and he could see perfectly once again. Tom stood still for several seconds, slightly bewildered as to what had just happened… _maybe it's lack of sleep rather than too much caffeine? Eh, I'll worry about it later, right now; bathroom! _

With a shrug, he quickly crossed the threshold from the lobby to the _employees only _section of the bank, and as he did, he again heard a quiet rustle, a soft swish of fabric that reminded him of…

"Ollo, my friend."

The security guard's heart kicked into overdrive at the sound of the voice behind him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun around to face the unknown intruder who must have been the culprit behind the stack of documents that scattered to the floor and scared the wits out of him a moment before. But how could there possibly be someone there with him? He had searched carefully with his flashlight and had seen no sign of another soul in the building with him.

When he had swung around and his feet once again landed on the floor after his fear induced launch into the air, his eyes locked with surprised relief on the visitor who seemingly appeared out of nowhere; the last person he expected to see.

"Megamind? What are you doing here? How'd you get inside?"

The blue man before him gave an odd chuckle and said, "Surprised? Well, entering spaces unnoticed is one of my fortes; an extraordinary talent of mine."

Tom noticed once again a slight whiff of the strange smell on the air that he had detected earlier, and as he did he began to feel slightly dizzy. _Ugh, I wonder if I'm getting sick with the same bug that Evan came down with?_

He ran his hands over his eyes and pressed them to his temples for a moment in an attempt to will the dizziness away. With an effort, Tom managed to produce a weak smile and said, "Unnoticed, huh? This must be something new; I thought you were all about making a grand entrance."

"Something new… yes, I suppose you could say there will be _several_ new things that Metrocity will be unfortunate enough to learn about me in the weeks ahead. You seem to be a bit unsteady; what's wrong? Feeling a bit odd tonight, are we?" responded his visitor in an unsettlingly mocking tone.

Despite his preoccupation with his recurring dizziness as well as the headache that was beginning to throb behind his eyes, Tom couldn't help but notice the strange choice of words Megamind had used. _Unfortunate? Huh, I must have heard him wrong…_

He brushed off the nagging uncertainty that began to pluck away at the back of his mind and said, "Oh, I'm alright, just a little headache. So, where's Minion tonight? Is this another new development; patrolling without him?"

"Oh yes, as a matter of fact it's gong to become much more common for unlucky citizens to see me without that ridiculous little fish."

As he made this uncharacteristically odd statement about his sidekick, Tom began to notice something different about Megamind. His usual congenial expression seemed off somehow. Where there was usually a spark of friendly mischief, his eyes now seemed hard and calculating, and Tom suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling that he was being sized up, his weaknesses being uncovered and scrutinized somehow in the course of their short conversation.

"Oh… wow. That's… um, that's too bad. I hope that everything's ok… "

Rather than answer, his surprise guest simply stared unblinkingly at him, a cold look in his green eyes that Tom couldn't quite put his finger on, but caused his heart to quicken with mild anxiety.

He cleared his throat nervously and asked, "So, what _are_ you doing here? I don't need any help tonight; everything's alright. I appreciate you stopping in to check on me, but you might be needed more somewhere else."

"Are you sure about that?" his visitor responded, and as he did he began to slowly move closer; the green eyes chillingly seeming to bore into him.

The relief Tom had felt when he had first seen who was behind him was rapidly being replaced by nervousness as he watched the man approach, and he unconsciously backed away in an attempt to preserve some distance between himself and the new hero.

"Wha… what do you mean? Sure about what?"

With another odd chuckle that sounded strangely hollow and lifeless, Megamind's eyes narrowed cruelly and he answered with an unsettlingly menacing tone, "Are you quite sure that everything's alright here? You can't be completely certain you know, what if someone _is_ here… lurking; lying in wait for just the right moment?"

Tom hadn't even realized he was edging away from his visitor until the backs of his thighs ran into a desk that was situated behind the teller's counter. The previous panic he had suffered from a short while ago was beginning to work it's way through him once again as he watched an unnervingly predatory look beginning to settle on the blue face, and the green eyes began to glint with a deep reddish gleam.

Trying to brush away the mounting panic as the strangely intimidating hero closed in on him with an eerie fluidity in his steps, Tom forced a weak, desperate chuckle and said, "Oh, there's nothing to worry about; even if there _is_ someone here, I couldn't be in a better place having the Defender of Metro City here with me, right?"

The blue man closed the distance between himself and Tom, and stopped a mere foot in front of him, staring with frigid cruelty up at him. The position he held in front of him left ample room on either side for the guard to slide away and gain added distance and safety behind the desk, but he found that he was unable to move. He simply stood gaping with wide, panic filled eyes, his heart thundering in his chest. Despite being considerably taller than the blue man standing toe to toe with him and far more generously built, there was something in the green eyes searing into his that froze his heart with fear.

As he watched his unwelcome visitor eye him with a demented glare, he noticed his vision began to blur again; everything seemed slightly hazy and unfocused for a moment, as though he was trying to look through a cloud of mist, or smoke. At the same moment, he caught another whiff of the strange odor he had noticed before, a bit stronger this time… enough that he could taste the bitterness on the back of his tongue.

Within seconds his blurriness had cleared again and the bitter smell had vanished, but Tom's head ached more painfully now, and his mind felt thick and sluggish. He felt drained and tired, and despite his attempts to clear his head so he could recall from his training what it was he was supposed to do in a situation where he felt threatened like this, he couldn't even string together a clear enough series of thoughts to remember to pull his gun, or turn and run the other way.

With another chuckle that was laced with cold cruelty rather than the warm, friendly laughter that Tom had grown accustomed to hearing, his uncharacteristically frightening visitor said, "Well, that's one way to look at it, although there's another option you might be wise to consider. What if having the Defender of Metrocity here with you is precisely the root of your problem?"

With that, before Tom could react or even understand what was happening, he felt a sharp, agonizing pain in the side of his face, and he suddenly found himself lying on the ground in a daze, unsure of how he had gotten there. When the darkness of the cavernous room stopped exploding with bright bursts of light that popped before his eyes and his pounding head quit spinning, he looked around, trying to gain his bearings and force his sluggish mind to remember what exactly had just happened.

He propped himself on his elbow and reached up to examine his bloodied nose and throbbing cheek, and as he did he caught a quick movement just to his left out of he corner of his eye. Instantly, the memory of his frightening night and his unexpected visitor whom he had over the past year grown to consider as a friend, but now feared he could never trust again, came flooding back to his mind.

In a panic, Tom began to scramble ahead on his knees, hoping beyond hope to reach the safety of his office and the lock on the door, but he was stopped short by a painful kick to the side, hard enough to send him skidding forward, sprawling on his face.

As he lay there for a moment holding his side, he heard the footsteps of his attacker approaching with measured determination, stopping directly above him. Another shot of fear coursed through him, and with an effort he rolled over to face him, hoping in a last ditch effort to appeal to the heroic side of the former villain that he knew must still be in there… somewhere.

"Megamind, stop! Listen, I don't know what's going on but _please _just… "

Before Tom could finish, Megamind's arm shot out and grabbed Tom's shirt by the collar, yanking him part way off the floor so he dangled from the fabric balled in his fist, while his legs continued to lay sprawled on the ground. He held him there effortlessly as he stood over him, using such surprising strength for a man of such small stature, the guard was stunned and in his shock nearly forgot his fear for a split second.

His unwelcome guest held him tightly enough by the collar to make it difficult for him to breathe, and as Tom hung there helplessly he began to notice once again the dizzy, muddled, sluggish feeling beginning to creep through his mind and thoughts. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to banish the feeling, and then looked at his assailant with the intention of trying one last time to appeal to his more noble side.

When he locked eyes on the city's new hero, he was terrified by what he saw. Tom watched in horrified amazement as the once friendly face glared hatefully into his, and to his utter confusion the familiar blue features seemed to flicker and waver, momentarily revealing a face far different and more frightening… gray, sunken, skeletal.

The green eyes again were lit from deep within by a reddish gleam, and he said viciously, "Shut up, moron! If you want to live through the rest of the night, you're going to do exactly what you're told. I have a little work to do here that may require your assistance… now, if you can do that and keep your mouth shut, I'll _consider_ restraining myself from smearing you across the lobby… leaving a nice, messy welcoming present for your buddies when they come in to relieve you in the morning. How's that sound; think you can live with that?"

Tom's eyes widened in terror and dismay when he heard the ultimatum offered him and realized that the man he thought was his friend; he thought was a _hero_, had returned to his old ways with a vengeance so intense, his new brand of evil made his old villainy look mild mannered and boring in comparison. There was no way out of this situation… he had no doubt in his mind that Megamind meant every word he said.

"Yeah… I do, I.. I c..can," he stammered as he nodded his head in desperation.

The villain's expression slid into a wickedly self satisfied grin and he said, "Good. Now, isn't this fun? You know… Defender of Metro City is such a ridiculous title; let's just see how quickly we can replace it with something much more _interesting_, shall we?"

With that, the slender blue man yanked Tom to his feet and fiercely propelled him across the room. As he stumbled into the wall and turned to see the supposed hero who had wholeheartedly returned to his life of villainy approach, two thoughts passed fleetingly through his mind amidst the panic… _This is all Evan's fault; if I live through this, I'm going to kill him when he gets back to work! _and, _Well, I guess I don't need to worry about making that stop at the men's room anymore._

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><p><em><strong>Whew! <strong>_**finished! Thanks for reading! **

**Now, don't string me up or X my story off your to-read list for making Megs look like the bad guy; stick with me into the next chapter, all will be explained. (It's not as bad as it may look, I promise!)**

**That portion of the story when Tom was remembering back to the day Megs swooped in and rescued Roxanne while he was still a villain was a reference to another story of mine, _I'm Not A Hero_. If you haven't checked it out already, you should… it's a fun one!**

**I'm a needy kind of girl… I crave the attention of a good review so… *here we go, begging again*… **_**please, please, PLEASE **_**tell me what you think so I can ride the wave of happiness I get from your positive comments into the next chapter. That will definitely give me an added boost of creative energy to get an update for you sooner!**

**Oh... the link to the petition... I almost forgot! Check my profile page, I'll have it there for you so you can add your name to the list. Thank you, X6! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here we go again, another installment! **

**Sorry for the long delay, shuttling two kids back and forth from games and practices sure sucks away my free time that could be spent in writing. But hopefully the fact that I have TWO chapters for you as a peace offering will convince you to forgive me! **

**Chapter 11 will be uploaded in a couple of days; it's ready to go, I just have a little bit of tweaking to do. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Despite spending the rest of the evening with Roxanne, both of them finding reassurance and comfort in one another's company and affection, Megamind had difficulty finding sleep that night. Although he intermittently drifted in and out of fitful rest, his thoughts continued to obstinately wander their way back to the ever increasing mess that was being laid out for him by the new villain in town.<p>

The more he thought about the possible consequences of having waited for so long to fully disclose everything he knew about the brand new bad guy, the more he wanted to jump right up and rush over to the station to spill every last detail of what he saw the night it all started. As he lay restlessly in bed he visualized everything that could possibly go wrong, from falling out of the good graces of the police and a lack of being able to work with them in a smooth and cooperative manner, to the cops flat out believing every bit of the accusations that were being flung at him, accepting without question that he had slipped back into his old, diabolical ways.

He was pulled from his thoughts for a moment when Roxanne stretched and rolled over, scooting close and snuggling into him as he lay on his side. A smile stole it's way across his lips when he looked at her tucked so neatly in next to him, and he slid his arm around her, gently running his hand up her back to her shoulders, then pulling her closer to hold her. When she had found her comfortable niche next to him, she drew in a breath and sighed, slipping more deeply into sleep.

The warm, gushy feeling that had replaced his worries for a moment when she snuggled in close began to be pushed quickly aside by the other worry that had been plaguing him for days; Roxanne. That same dread that he felt for her throughout the past several days showed it's ugly head again as he lay there watching her shoulders rise and fall in time with her even breaths and felt her soft, warm body wrapped protectively in his arms.

They both knew when they decided to jump headlong into their relationship shortly after the battle with Titan that being with him meant risks for her; not just because he was the hero, but also because he was the former villain, earning him plenty of enemies from both sides of the law. Despite that, they both wholeheartedly agreed that the chance to finally be together after years of having to hide their feelings for one another was worth every risk imaginable. For a while both Megamind and Roxanne were cautious and watchful for any sign of trouble, but after time Roxanne seemed to relax about it; she continued to be careful, but had grown to trust his protection completely and never felt the need to worry.

Megamind however rarely _stopped_ worrying for her, and for some reason the drama that was unfolding with Metro City's newest villain had him more worried than ever. He had to keep her safe; after all, she was everything to him. She was the first person to believe in him and had been his whole world for years; she was the whole reason behind his change of heart and the beginning of his new and happy life. He honestly couldn't imagine going on another second if something ever happened to her.

His concern gave way to impatience to get the show on the road; he wanted to talk to Chris and the other officers right _now_ so they would have an idea of exactly what was going on and who they seemed to be up against… he just wished he knew more about the bad guy himself. _Maybe I could just call him right now, or even better, swing by his house and talk to him in person. _

When he looked at the clock, he was disappointed to find it was only shortly before four in the morning; not exactly a very convenient hour to show up at someone's home with important information, not even to place a quick call to explain things. No, he wanted to be sure he had Chris' attention when he told his story, and waking him up before the sun wasn't the proper way to secure either his consideration, or his cooperation.

Trying for a few moments to drift back to sleep, he realized quickly there was no use in even bothering; he was too wide awake to even consider trying to lie still when he was so antsy and his mind was so busy with the multitude of thoughts that buzzed back and forth. He had to get up and move, get his mind absorbed into something productive or all the nagging worries would eat him alive. With that, he placed a kiss atop Roxanne's head, and then gently and slowly lifted his arm from her and began to slide his way out of bed, taking care to make as little noise as possible.

Just when he thought he had made it up safely without disturbing his girlfriend, there was a rustle of sheets and blankets as she stretched again and he heard her voice sleepily say, "Where are you going?"

_Darn it, I should have been more careful! _"I'm sorry Roxanne, I didn't mean to wake you. I can't sleep, so I thought I'd just get up and go to the lab for a while. Go back to sleep sweetheart, I'll see you later."

"What time is it?" she asked in the midst of a yawn.

"Four o'clock."

"Can't sleep… you mean you haven't slept yet at all?"

"No, I did. A little." he answered as he stood up and reached for his suit.

"Megamind, come back here. You have a lot going on today, you should try to sleep a little more."

"That's all I've been doing for hours. I can't try any more, I've got to get up and do something; get my mind on something constructive."

Roxanne sat up and watched as he finished dressing, yawning and trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. He walked around to her side of the bed and sat down next to her, asking in a low voice with a sultry smile, "Zip me up?"

Typically it had been the brainbots job to assist him with dressing, but since Roxanne moved in they had adopted a strict "no brainbots in the bedroom" policy for reasons ranging from preserving their privacy from the ever curious creatures that noticed everything, to simply ensuring a decent night's sleep.

Since day one when Roxanne moved in, the bots seemed to have staked a claim on her. They were smitten with her and followed her protectively throughout the lair as often as they could, jostling one another around so they could be the one closest to her, therefore securing the prominent position to be able to fetch her anything she needed. Before the new rule was established, they would race for the best spot on the bed so they could be closest to her, pushing and snapping at each other with metal jaws and pincers like sassy schnauzers greedily refusing to share the affection of the owner they adored.

Roxanne thought the display was as cute as it could be until she realized how little sleep she and her beau were getting due to waking up in the middle of the night crammed together between a sea of robotic tendrils and glowing blue domes. Despite being shooed away each night, they would sneakily open the door and waft their way back in shortly after their daddy and his new friend were sound asleep, quietly alighting on the bed and crowding their way in as closely as they could to Miss Ritchi, who was rapidly becoming their favorite person in the world.

Megamind had held his tongue about his increasing irritation with his pets because he assumed Roxanne was just as enamored with them as they were with her, and she kept a lid on her frustration because she was afraid to hurt her boyfriend's feelings, knowing that he had quite a soft spot for the odd little creatures.

All that changed shortly after she moved in when Megamind, half asleep and particularly annoyed at finding himself and Roxanne scrunched into a pile in the middle of the bed once again and surrounded by bots on all sides, lost his temper and kicked out at the closest bot, attempting to scare it and its brothers away. Instead of frightening off the offending cyborg, it testily chomped its metal jaws down on the back of the sleepy and unaware hero's thigh, producing a shriek that woke every occupant in the lair, biological and mechanical alike. From that moment on, Megamind laid down the law; _no more bots in the bedroom_, and Roxanne, amidst hysterical giggles, wholeheartedly agreed.

Now that Megamind no longer had his personal entourage of brainbots close by and hovering in wait to help him dress the moment he got out of bed, Roxanne had assumed the duty of zipping his difficult to manage top and helping him with any of the other details that his heroic wardrobe required.

"There you go, handsome," she said flirtatiously as she finished pulling the zipper up his back.

When he heard her teasing tone of voice, he swiveled around and put his arms around her, hugging her tightly and chuckling as he nuzzled her neck with his goatee, rubbing the prickly hairs into her sensitive skin and producing a shiver and a giggle from his love. He withdrew from her just enough to give her a kiss, leaning forward as he did so, and gently pushing her back to her pillow in the process. When she was nestled comfortably back in the warm spot on the bed, he stood and pulled the blankets up to cover her, then bending to kiss her once more he turned to go.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. I'll see you tonight. Please be careful out there today." he said.

"I will, Megs. You too." she sleepily whispered as she watched him go.

Her eyes followed him all the way to the door, and as he left and the door closed quietly behind him, she rolled over trying to find sleep again. Despite her comfortable position in the warm, soft bed, her mind was now more than wide awake and running at full tilt. She realized in short order that there was no way she'd be able to fall asleep again, especially knowing that he was up puttering around in the lab, trying to keep his prodigious mind busy and work his cares away. _Why am I still lying here when he's down there by himself worrying? He needs me right now…_

With a final stretch, she threw the covers back and slid out of bed, determined to be there for the man who had always been there for her when she needed him, and she knew always would be.

* * *

><p>When Megamind walked into the lab, he was shocked to see his best friend sitting at the work table, tinkering with the prototype of the new De-gun. He was concentrating fiercely on adjusting the tiny parts inside, leaning over the gun with squinted eyes. His tongue poked from the corner of his fang filled mouth from time to time as he threw himself completely to his task, clearly oblivious to anything but the piece of precision weaponry at his fingertips. Then turning to the computer, he would plunk in new settings and run diagnostics, making sure the final touches were in place and the new weapon was ready for another round of tests. The spacefish was so engrossed in what he was doing, he didn't even notice his boss when he first entered the room.<p>

"Why are you up so early, Minion?" asked the former bad boy as he approached the table.

When Minion heard the voice address him he looked up with a start, his big brown eyes wide with surprise. "Sir, what are you doing down here? Don't you know what time it is? You really should be in… "

"Yes, yes. I know, Roxanne just said the same thing. You're both right of course, but I can't sleep. I figured if I'm going to be awake anyway, I might as well make the time useful rather than lying in bed thinking. And what about you, my scaly sidekick?"

Minion smiled at his friend's question and said, "Well, I think it's about the same for me as it is for you. I woke up a couple of hours ago and just couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to finish up the De-ep Freeze setting on the new gun so it would be ready for you to test out later today. Just one less thing for you to worry about, Sir."

Touched by his lifelong friend's devotion, Megamind gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder and said with a smile, "You really are fantastic, you know that Minion?"

His sidekick chuckled and said mischievously, "Oh yes, Sir. I know!"

Minion stepped aside and watched as his boss bent close to inspect the progress he had made on the De-gun in the past hour. Megamind picked up one of the tiny precision tools that had been laid out carefully along side the gun, and began touching the internal workings gently, moving aside wires and examining the minute details that lay hidden deep within.

Absorbed in the inspection, Megamind commented without looking up, "You've done a good job here Minion, I honestly couldn't have done better myself. There are only a couple of minor adjustments needed that I can see right off the bat, and those are easily taken care of."

Minion's heart was warmed at the glowing compliment. In the fish's eyes, being told by Megamind that he couldn't have done better at something himself was greatest form of praise he could possibly receive. In the six months since his boss' change of heart, he had progressed so much in the way of being thoughtful for the feelings of others and making sure his sidekick felt appreciated for all his hard work and loyalty.

His train of thought began to wander again toward the thing that had kept him up most of the night; his boss' worrisome predicament. He continued to watch his blue friend as he tinkered with the gun, beginning the minor adjustments needed to make the gun test-ready. As he did, his sharp little mind ran through the situation, finally resting on his most pressing question at the moment… had he yet decided to bring the police in on everything he knew, or would he continue on with his stubborn insistence to keep quiet and press on alone.

The fish's thoughts were cut short when he heard his friend ask, "What exactly is running through that mind of yours, Minion?"

His eyes turned toward Megamind as he worked, and he wasn't surprised to find that the astute alien had noticed his preoccupation without even needing to look up from his project. He was still leaning over the gun, intensely focusing on the last minute modifications.

Hearing his boss' intuitive query, Minion almost decided to go ahead and ask the question that was burning in his mind, but at the last moment as he opened his mouth to speak, he found he was unable to pluck up his courage to voice his thoughts. Instead, he simply stated, "Oh nothing. I was just wondering how close you think the gun is to being ready to be used in the field."

Megamind poked away at the weapon in silence for a few more moments and then answered, "Not long. I think we have it in hand… I'm sure it'll be ready for the field test today, and after that we'll start using it regularly."

After another moment, he put down his tools and straightened himself with a stretch. Then turning to Minion, he said, "I'm going to tell them you know. I'm going to talk to Chris this morning."

"You are?"

"Yes, I've come to the conclusion that holding back is detrimental to getting this thing solved, so I'm planning on meeting with Chris today to give him all the information we have."

Minion simply looked at him with an immensely surprised expression; what a change from the way he'd been seeing things the night before. _There's no _way_ he came to that conclusion without a little help from a certain reporter I know…_

Minion's surprised expression contained enough of an incredulous edge to cause Megamind to backtrack a bit, saying, "Well, I came to the conclusion based on the recommendation of a trusted confidant… "

Minion's wide eyed surprise shifted to a knowing smirk, and although he tried to hide it so as not to embarrass his boss, that smirk had _'Yeah, you're doing it because your girlfriend _told_ you to do it' _written all over it.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Megamind huffed, and with a roll of his eyes he said, "Yes, ok… I'm doing it because Roxanne said she thinks I should! What's wrong with that, huh? She _is_ the smartest person either one of us knows. Well, maybe not you… you do know me and _no one _equals my intellect, although do I think she comes just about as close as it gets. But her advice is solid gold. I really need to start listening to her more often."

Suddenly interrupting his indignant monologue, a voice called out behind him, "I heard that you know, and I'm holding you to it!"

Both spaceman and fish turned with surprise toward the door to see the very woman in question, sauntering in with a supremely smug look on her pretty face; her crooked smirk laced with affection for the man she overheard admitting that yes, he certainly did need to listen to her more often. _I couldn't have timed this more perfectly! I'm gonna have to be sure to remind him of that little admission every now and then, just to help keep it fresh in his memory…_

Megamind watched as she approached, a look of surprise on his face which was accentuated by a single raised eyebrow. Why would she be up now when she still had two hours before she needed to be up to start her day?

Just as he was about to open his mouth to voice his question she wrapped her arms around him, and kissing him on the lips she said gently, "I had to get up. When you left all I could think about was you down here worrying, so I wanted to be here for you."

Her boyfriend's surprised face softened into an adoring smile and he said, "Thank you, sweetheart."

As she placed her hand on his cheek and returned his smile, their eyes filled with devotion as they gazed at one another, Minion found a smile of his own tugging at the corners of his lips and discovered a bit of heat beginning to color his cheeks. Not wanting to intrude on their private moment, he turned away shyly to occupy himself with the De-gun. No matter how many times he witnessed moments like this between them or even how awkward he sometimes felt when they showed their affection for one another, his heart glowed with delight to see them so happy together; to know that despite it all, Sir was truly loved by such an amazing woman.

After a moment of raptly sharing a longing look in one another's eyes, Megamind said softly, "I'm glad you came down. I really needed your company this morning."

"I'll _always _be here for you when you need me Megs," she replied, and after one more kiss on his lips she whispered, "Don't ever forget that, ok?"

"I won't," he answered, his once self professed black heart now bright and melting in the glow of her adoration for him.

"Well since we're all down here together, how about I go and make up some breakfast and coffee?" Minion asked cheerfully, trying to find a polite way to excuse himself from the increasingly uncomfortable fact that he was smack dab in the middle of what seemed to him like a mushy romance novel.

Roused from their dreamy eyed gaze, Megamind and Roxanne turned to look at their aquatic friend as though they had just now noticed he was in the room. With a fond smile Roxanne said, "Oh sure Minion! That would be great. Can I help you at all?"

"No, no. I've got it under control. You and Sir can just stay here and take it easy while I get it all set up; it shouldn't take very long."

With that, Minion smiled sentimentally at the couple one last time, and then turned to lumber off to the kitchen to do what he could to help them have a pleasant start to what would likely be a difficult day.

* * *

><p>When Minion announced that breakfast was ready, the three of them sat down together to thoroughly enjoy the meal that he had treated them with. As it turned out, this surprise was truly a perfect start to their day. It was a chance for them to talk, and laugh, and enjoy each other's company, and simply remove their minds for a while from the difficult situation that seemed to envelope them all; a chance to forget for a bit and just be <em>normal<em>.

When they had finished and Minion began to clear away the dishes and clean up (insisting once again that they both relax and take it easy for the rest of the morning until it was time for them to start their day), Roxanne settled in to do one of her favorite things; watch her brainy boyfriend at work on one of his amazing inventions.

She sat on a stool next to him at his work table, elbows on the top and her head resting on her hands, leaning in so as to get the best view of her genius in action. With a smile she observed him as he bent close to the new gun, making minute adjustments with odd looking little tools that reminded her of the precision implements used by watchmakers in ages gone by. The look of intense concentration on his face made her want to giggle with affection for him; the way he squinted his green eyes at the tiny parts hidden inside the shell of the weapon, the knitting of his brows as he labored over a particularly tricky bit of adjusting, and the adorable way one side of his lip drew back when he wrinkled his nose without even realizing he was doing so.

It took quite a lot of control for Roxanne to maintain composure as she watched her genius absorb himself in his task. Not wanting to distract him or break his focus, she put her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles that threatened to burst out as she smiled down at him, allowing her laughter to bubble up in her heart instead. It was also becoming increasingly difficult for her to stop herself from moving in close between him and the object of his intense absorption and kiss the heck out of him. Mmmm, those gorgeous blue lips looked deliciously kissable when he pulled that one side back from time to time or pursed them together in a moment of extreme fixation.

Finally, with a grin of triumph, he straightened himself and said, "Ah-ha! Finished at last, and it's perfect!"

"Wait, how would you know if it's perfect? You haven't tried it out yet have you?"

"Well, we tried it out last week and the test results were… less than exemplary." he said as the memory of the disaster they were left with that morning when the gun malfunctioned and froze an entire section of his monitors and controls solid under a thick sheet of ice, along with a few unlucky brain bots who happened to get in the way, _and_ Roxanne's laptop, flitted through his mind. It was a good thing that Roxanne had been working incredibly late that evening, because it had given them more than enough time to figure out how to thaw the whole mess without destroying the inner workings of the sensitive equipment. His panic at the realization of how incredibly ticked she would be if her expensive laptop had been ruined remained fresh in his memory. _Yes, it would be best not to broach that subject just now… _

"But we pinpointed the defect and were able to make just a few minor adjustments to solve the problem. It should be perfectly operational right now, as we speak!" he said quickly, trying to move the conversation along so as to distract his astute girlfriend. As he spoke, he thrust a finger into the air to punctuate his point, a look of manic excitement glimmering in his eyes.

"Yeah well, you might want to think about adding a _De-Frost _setting to go along with that, just in case. You never know when you might accidentally freeze something you don't want frozen, like… oh, say… sensitive monitors and instruments?"

As her words registered, his manic grin sank into an open mouthed gape. _Hmmm, De-Frost? That's not a bad idea, that could come in really ha… Hold on a second, does she know? _

The corners of Roxanne's lips slid up in a mischievous smirk and she added, "and _computers_?"

His open mouthed gape instantly turned into a slightly panicked wide eyed stare as he tried to think of how the heck she could possibly know what had happened that day. She did know, didn't she? _But maybe she just accidentally guessed and doesn't even realize it…_

"Why Roxanne, what are you talking about? Surely you know I would be _far_ more careful than to make a… ridiculous mistake like that. My brilliance would never allow for such a faux-pas. I mean, really, that's the kind of blunder one would expect from an _amma-toor_, not a seasoned genius such as myself."

Roxanne simply gazed at him knowingly for a moment, her eyebrow rising on one side to match the corner of her lip as she smirked at him. _Oh, this is so much fun! Look at him squirm, he's so damn adorable!_

"In fact, you might want to go ahead and test it _outside_, just to be on the safe side." she added, having difficulty keeping a straight face and the laughter out of her voice.

"Well, of course! I'm surprised you would find it necessary to tell me these things, Roxanne; things any sensible genius would simply do automatically." he responded, trying to sound indignant and hoping to throw her off the trail. _How the hell could she… _MINION_!_ _Information like that is to be given out on a strict need to know basis _only_. Code: I'm going to have to have a review with him about our Do-Not-Divulge policy! _

Just then, the voice of their aquatic friend rang out in the open space of the lab, "All finished! Now, how are the adjustments coming along, Sir? All ready for a trial run?"

Megamind's oversized head snapped toward the fish, answering his query with a silent glower, his eyebrows lowered dangerously as he watched his friend approach.

When Minion saw the livid expression on his face, he slowed down, and in a slightly confused voice, he asked, "Is, um… everything ok… Sir?" _Oh no, now what did I do?_

Quick as a flash, the look of disdain was replaced with a smooth grin when Roxanne turned questioningly toward him, and in an ever so slightly forced voice he answered, "Of course, my piscean partner, why on Earth would you ask?"

Turning to his lady love, Megamind said, "Roxanne, you had mentioned doing a little research for me in regards to previous crimes that seemed suspiciously related to the situation we find ourselves in now. You wouldn't happen to have that handy, would you? It would be a fantastic addition to my presentation for the police today… a little back up information to help get our point across."

Roxanne instantly grew serious as she answered, "Oh yeah. I've got it all ready to go. I'll just go grab it for you; be right back."

As Megamind watched her hurry away, he called out with a smile, "Thank you, sweetheart."

Then turning to his nervous little friend with a scathing glare, he added, "And while you're gone, MINON and I are going to have a little conversation about _confidentiality_… aren't we, Minion?"

The fish's only response was a hesitant smile and an uncomfortable laugh. _Oh man. I'm not sure why, but I'm in trouble!_

* * *

><p>Roxanne returned a short time later with a portfolio containing a small stack of papers in her hand to find her blue boyfriend finishing what looked like a heated discussion with Minion, who stood cringing slightly and looking rather sheepish.<p>

"Is everything alright?" she asked with concern as she approached Megamind, who spun around to face her when she entered the room, a smooth smile spread across his face. "Of course it is! Minion and I were just having a review of some of the long standing procedures we have in place around here. It's been a while since they've been discussed so I thought now would be as good a time as any to go over them; refresh his memory a bit."

"Oh, anything I should know?" she asked, slightly puzzled as to why the fish would look so uncomfortable about what sounded like such a simple discussion. _Whatever it was it must be important, maybe I should know about this too… _

"Oh no, just some things that have been laid out specifically for Minion. Nothing you need to worry about at all, my love. Now, what do you have for me?" he said as he reached out and took the papers from her.

She looked at him suspiciously for another moment, then turned back to Minion who continued to look more like someone who had just received a scathing lecture instead of a quick review of rules and procedures. _Well if he won't tell me I'll ask Minion later. I can _always_ find out from him what I need to know whether he comes right out and tells me or not. Hmmm, I hope he didn't get into trouble about…_

Her thoughts were immediately pulled back to the current conversation when she heard Megamind ask in a slightly surprised voice, "This really doesn't seem like very much; is this all you could find?"

"Yeah, that's all there was. I remember when these happened too, that's one of the things that struck me as so strange about them; they were such small crimes… I was shocked that anyone would actually believe that you would even bother with something like that. Look at the dates on those. You were at the height of your _villainous_ career then; I mean seriously, why would you stoop to purse snatching or knocking over a 7-11 for a few bucks when you were in the middle of the final stages of planning the Equistrinator, or that last one… the _Recyclo-tron of Doom_?" she said, and as she did she couldn't help but add in a little drama to her voice and a tiny roll of her eyes at the ridiculous code name he had bestowed upon the plan that preceded the fateful Death Ray.

As he listened to her talk about his pre-hero days that were rife with kidnappings and astounding contraptions of destruction, he couldn't help but assume a rather nostalgic expression. His eyes clouded over with a slightly dreamy _Ah, those were the good old days _look as he relived the excitement of some of his most glorious creations. Especially the Equistrinator, yes that was definitely one of his favorites, even if everyone else thought it was a parade complete with an oh-so-cute unicorn. _Minion handing out balloons to the kiddies certainly didn't help any! But, ah, that's all in the past I suppose; Water over the bridge, as they say… _

His nostalgia wasn't lost on Roxanne, who paused as she watched the dreamy eyed expression develop into a wistful smile. Despite the seriousness of the conversation, she found herself smiling along with him for a moment. He was just too cute when he relived bits and pieces of the old days for her resist soaking it in for a minute or two.

Minion seemed to recover from his _review_ the instant he heard mention of the plan that was his personal favorite as well. His big brown eyes lit up as the memory danced through his mind, and with a chuckle he couldn't help himself from saying, "Oh Boss, remember how cute the kids were; they were so excited about those balloon animals I made for them! That was my first try at making those you know… I was pretty pleased with how they turned out!"

As he spoke, the blissful smile on his boss' face began to tighten, and his eyes narrowed as he turned them slowly to regard his hench-fish. Noticing his strained expression, Minion immediately followed with, "And Sir, of course they loved you too. That must have been a thrilling day for them; remember the way they crowded around the sidewalks and cheered for you like that? Oh, you know what we could do? We could do it all over again! Bring out the old girl and shine her up, decorate her a bit and give this city a parade to remember! Hey, this time we could even throw _candy_ to the kids!"

Roxanne had been noticing an increasing level of irritation developing in her boyfriend's face as he listened to Minion go on about the "parade" that had once been his boss' pride and joy among all his many terrifying plans. After that moment of indulging in sentimentality, she figured it was high time to refocus their attention to the subject at hand, if for no other reason than to prevent an outburst from her boyfriend and another "review" for Minion.

With an earnest expression she touched his arm to pull him back to the present and said, "Megamind, don't you think we need to focus our energy on what's in the portfolio here?"

His eyes snapped back to her and instantly resumed a serious, thoughtful expression, and he said, "Oh yes, of course. I see there were some muggings here too… "

"Exactly! How could they possibly have believed that you would have been a part of those muggings? You were great at playing the evil villain part, but you _never_ hurt anyone. And look… every one of those crimes had a couple of common themes. They all say you were alone; Minion was nowhere in sight, which never happened. He was _always_ there helping you in one way or another. And they all mentioned there being fog or mist around when it happened. "

"Yes, well you have to remember who was handling these cases, my dear. Although they're getting much better, the MCPD was never known for their astute handling of detailed investigations; or, well any investigations for that matter. Little details like these were often lost on them in those days."

Roxanne's eyes narrowed with doubt when she heard his words. She had hoped that her findings would be a great help to him, but now she wasn't sure it was enough. Suddenly an important detail popped into her head, and she piped up, "Oh, there's a hold up in there that happened during one of my kidnappings, so you were with me; you had an alibi. I added that information in there for you too, so that should help… "

Glancing up from the reports, he met her eyes for a moment and nodded, answering quickly, "Yes, I think it will." With that he returned his attention to perusing the information he held in his hand, looking for the specific page she had mentioned..

He stood a moment longer, silently leafing through the stack of papers that Roxanne had brought to him and allowing his oversized brain to absorb the information. He hoped that it would soon begin to help make sense of the situation; give him a better idea of exactly who he was dealing with, and at the very least he hoped it would be enough information to help remove any suspicion from him.

As he gave a final scan over the bundle of papers, he said, "Roxanne, this is wonderful; I think it will be very helpful for me to have this on hand today." Then closing up the portfolio, he looked up at her with a grateful smile. He reached out and took her by the elbow, leading her in close to him. Wrapping his lean arms around her and gazing into her impossibly blue eyes he said, "Thank you sweetie, I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

Her anxious expression relaxed instantly when she heard his affirming words, and she asked, "So you think it's alright? Will it be enough? I was a little worried when you asked if that's all I was able to find… "

"Oh no, don't be worried. I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I think it's perfect actually, each one of those situations have the same elements we're seeing now; it's quite obvious to anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence that they're all related." _The trouble is the collective _lack_ of that reasonable amount of intelligence I'm so often finding with the cops in this city._

"I'm sure it'll be fine. And like I said last night, I'll take this to Chris first. He's the smartest cop I've ever known; he'll see this information for what it is. And he knows how to handle his _coom-radds_; all the ins and outs of dealing with the more thick headed of the lot… something I'm still getting a handle on. He'll make an excellent ally." he reassured her with a smile.

She smiled back at him when she heard his heartening encouragement, and she closed her arms around him, tucking her face into his neck as he tightened his hold around her waist. They stood for a while holding one another with eyes closed, sharing in each other's strength to help them get through the coming day.

As much as he hated to interrupt them, Minion cleared his throat and said, "Um, Sir… Roxanne, I'm sorry to butt in, but it's about time we get going. It's getting later and we need to get started as early as possible… "

The couple reluctantly pulled apart when they heard his reminder, but continued to hold on to one another's hands as Megamind said, "He's right, we have to go. I'll call to let you know how things go as soon as I can."

She smiled and said, "Ok… I love you."

"I love you too." he answered with a gentle squeeze of her fingers as he turned to go, continuing to look over his shoulder at her for another moment as he and Minion headed toward the car.

"No worries Roxanne. I've got his back! See you later!" Minion called out to her in an attempt at sounding cheerful. He hated to see her worry, and wanted to do his part to alleviate her concerns.

She stood a moment longer, watching them retreat into the depths of the lair to find the invisible car, and felt her stomach clench nervously as she thought of what he was about to do. _Oh please let it work out for him; please let it be alright…_

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it! <strong>

**Please leave me a review? I know this is called **_**begging**_**, but honestly, your reviews are what keeps this story going and makes me want to write more.**

**My apologies to any of you who have reviewed but haven't received a thank you from me. Like I said, I've been so busy, and I think I may have neglected to send out a response to a couple of you (I feel really bad…), so I'm taking this opportunity to say thanks to **_**everyone**_** who has read and reviewed… **_**THANKS YOU! **_

**Your kind feedback is always so very much appreciated, it means A LOT, I promise! **

**Now don't forget, chapter 11 will be uploaded in a couple of days. Hope you'll be back to see what happens next!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for moving on to see what happens next!**

**And now another chapter, and a bit more angst for our handsome blue hero and his sassy reporter. (With a couple of brighter spots mixed in for good measure. This is a Megamind story; we've got to have some fun with this, right?) :)**

* * *

><p>As hero and sidekick rocketed down the road in in full stealth mode, the spacefish showing off his highly developed reflexes as he swerved dangerously in and out of early morning traffic, their speculations as to how the day would turn out was interrupted by Megamind's ring tone.<p>

"Ah, it's Chris! Perfect timing." he said when he picked up his phone and recognized the number of the caller. Despite the anxious rolling he felt in his stomach at the thought of the serious conversation he was about to have with the detective, he found it impossible to answer without having a bit of fun with his friend.

Assuming a mischievous smirk and a slightly cavalier tone, he said, "Metrocity's _magnificently _handsome hero speaking… "

"Megamind, we need to talk. How soon can you be at the station?"

"Oh… we can be there in a few minutes, we're on our way over there as we speak."

"Good, see you in a few."

Detecting a hint of strain in the officer's voice, Megamind said, "Wait, what's going on?"

For a few moments, Chris' only response to this question was silence, and Megamind began to feel that anxious quiver in his stomach intensify uncomfortably as he wondered why his friend was being so uncharacteristically reticent.

After several seconds of dead air on the other end of the line, Chris finally said in a strained voice with a deep huffing sigh, "Listen, we'll talk about it when you get here, ok?"

"Alright, we'll be right there." Megamind said, his brows furrowing deeply as he closed his phone.

He sat staring out the window sightlessly as the oncoming cars whipped by, obviously mulling a troubling turn of events around in his prodigious brain. As he there pondering, Minion watched him from time to time out of the corner of his eye, switching his attention from his boss to the hazards of the road.

Finally, after observing his friend's agitation and feeling the tension beginning to thicken in the air, he asked with concern, "What is it, Sir?"

Megamind sat quietly for another second, and then with narrowed eyes and a slow shake of his head he said, "Something's wrong... "

"What do you mean, something's wrong?"

"Something's wrong… he wouldn't tell me what it is over the phone, but there's definitely something going on."

Minion looked worried as he watched the road, dodging and weaving in and out of cars as he shot ahead toward their destination. A moment later his eyes flicked to his boss and he asked, "Do you think it happened again?"

"I don't know, Minion. We'll find out soon enough."

* * *

><p>Roxanne and Cody were the first to be on the scene to report the hot news item of the morning, the robbery that had taken place at Metro Savings and Loan in the day's early hours while the city still slept. A robbery at this bank wasn't out of the ordinary, it had always been the pick of the litter for hold ups among all the banks in the city, but what <em>did<em> seem unusual was the absolute lack of information she had been sent on her way with. All she and Cody knew was that there had been a robbery.

Pulling up across the street in the KMCP van, both reporter and cameraman took in the typical scene; several squad cars were parked along the front of the stately old building with lights flashing and officers milling about performing one task or another as they worked the scene of the robbery. Watching the activity for a moment before hopping out of the van to set up and begin her broadcast, Roxanne's mind was carried back to the day that she herself had been caught up in another robbery that had taken place at this same bank.

A tiny smile stole across her lips as she thought of her release from the thugs not at the hands of her usual rescuer, but rather at the hands of the villain, her long time kidnapper. Her heart fluttered as she remembered the way she felt that day when she began to realize for the first time that not only did Megamind truly care for her, but that she was beginning to fall for him too.

She was roused from her dreamy thoughts when Cody interrupted her, saying, "Hey, wake up… you're not going to get much reporting done sitting there daydreaming like that. Being first on the scene doesn't mean much if you sit in the van thinking about your boyfriend and let the other reporters show up and scoop the story."

Looking slightly sheepish and feeling her cheeks begin to warm a bit, she snickered and said, "That obvious, huh?"

"Uh… yeah. Are ever _not_ thinking about him? I'm actually not sure how you manage to get any work done at all between all the time you spend with the _imaginary_ Megamind, and finding ways to meet up with the real thing during the day. You guys are almost ridiculous!"

Roxanne rolled her eyes and shook her head with a loud laugh as she unbuckled and opened the door of the van. "Cody, that's my job. I'm not 'finding ways to meet up' with him; I'm _supposed_ to report on his hero work! You know that, come on!"

"Oh ok, so then that must explain all the extra time it seems to take after the broadcasts are over and I'm sitting there with Minion waiting for the two of you to stop fawning over each other. Or are those special investigative interviews you're conducting and just not telling me about? Yeah, that must be it."

Cody paused to shake his head and continued, "Rox, do you have any idea how _awwk-waaard _it is for me and Fish Sticks to just sit there waiting around while the two of you finish your shameless flirting sessions?"

"Ooooh, Cody… don't call him that. He hates to be called Fish Sticks. Music Man calls him that all the time and he can't stand it! And we're _not_ that bad, stop being so sensitive! All we do is talk, I don't know why you're getting so bent about it." she said with a giggle as images of her cameraman and the spacefish sitting uncomfortably on the curbside, trying not to look in their direction as they waited for the couple to stop "talking" darted through her mind.

She was immensely enjoying the fun she was having with her cameraman and thankful that he was helping to keep her thoughts off the cares that waited at the back of her mind. She thought not for the first time of how happy she was to finally be able to work with someone who was actually normal and whom she got along with so well.

"Ok, yeah. But it's the _way_ you're talking that gets me. All that deep, longing eye contact, and smiling, and the touching and hand holding and… ugh, I'm getting a stomach ache just thinking about it. It's enough to make me yak!" He quipped with a smirk as he hoisted the camera on his shoulder and swung the door of the van shut with a slam.

Rather than shooting Cody a much deserved snarky comeback, Roxanne leaned on the side of the van and giggled until her sides ached. Despite his knack for sarcastic exaggeration, she knew there was a tiny kernel of truth to his observations, and the way he described it so disgustedly left her in stitches.

With a deep draw of breath in an attempt at chasing the last of the giggles away, she said, "Oh God Cody, you're so much fun! Alright listen, even though you're _completely_ overreacting, we'll try to tone it down a bit if it really makes you that uncomfortable."

Cody chuckled and said, "I'm just kidding Rox, you guys are fine; although it _is_ weird for me to stand there while you two are in the middle of one of your sappy, doe-eyed staring contests."

Roxanne burst out in a final round of giggles as she grabbed her mic and shut the door, and then clearing her throat she said, "Stop it! I've go to get serious here… I've got a broadcast to do remember? Come on, you get set up and I'll go try to find out what I can before the report."

"You got it, Boss!" Cody said in his best imitation of their mutual aquatic friend, and turned around to find the best possible location to set up for the report.

She watched him go with a grin and a shake of her head for a moment, and then she turned to find a cop to dig a little information out of to help bulk up her broadcast. The sad lack of details she had to report on just wouldn't do; the city's top reporter didn't get where she was without a lot of ferreting out of tiny details that the other reporters in town didn't take the effort or even think to look for. She may be a thorn in the side of the PD at times, not to mention a bit of a worry for a couple of heroes she knew, one in particular, but that's what made her the best at what she did, and she wasn't about to let that slide now.

* * *

><p>The first thing that Megamind and Minion noticed when they entered the station was that the atmosphere of the building felt different. The air was thick with tension that could be seen in the nervous glances of the officers and detectives that passed by quietly rather than boisterously greeting them with a handshake or good natured ribbing, and in the whispered conversations that were passed between small groups of huddled officers as they watched the new hero and his partner walk by.<p>

In fact, the place felt more like it did less than a year ago when he was still being hauled in by the back of his cape in Metro Man's massive fist. But this time it was infinitely worse; before he had become the hero there was a comfortable normalcy to the comments and stares which were often laced with barbs and enjoyable banter that had simply grown to be an expected part of the complete experience in executing one of his plans. Now however, the reaction of the cops to his presence in the station seemed leery and full of mistrust. Everyone seemed to be hanging back from him and casting him confused or disapproving glances, some even looking at him with an expression that hinted at a sense of betrayal.

Despite the duo's attempts at their usual grand entrance and congenial hellos to everyone they saw, the cops were having none of it, and instead uncomfortably excused themselves as quickly as they could to rush off to one "important" task or another.

"Oh wow, everyone seems awfully busy today, no one even has time to stop and say good morning." Minion observed as they approached the conference room, looking around with a slightly puzzled expression.

"I don't think they're really that busy, Minion."

After a moment of quietly reflecting on his boss' comment, Minion said, "No, you're right. I don't think they are either."

"I told you something's going on." Megamind said with a concerned scowl as he reached for the conference room door where Chris was waiting to meet with them.

"I just hope it's not what I'm starting to think it is."

With a final glance and an acknowledging nod at his friend, Megamind took a deep breath and summoned up his all of his enthusiasm and charisma so as to appear as unconcerned as possible, and opened the door. Seated at the table were Chris and George Bennett, who were speaking in hushed voices in what seemed to be a deep and weighty discussion. When the pair stepped inside, the detectives instantly stopped in mid-conversation and watched with scrutiny as the blue spaceman swaggered in with all his usual showmanship.

"Ah, good morning Christopher! Nice to see that the sharpest tack on the force is up and at it so early in the day. But Bennett, you're the _last_ person I would expect to see here at such an ungodly hour. Putting out such effort is so unlike you! Have you finally decided after all these years to tag along with my main man here and learn how to be a _real_ detective? _Bra-vo_ Bennett, there's hope for you yet!" Megamind said to the portly detective as he motioned to Chris with a smirk.

Rather than bursting into a deep mischievous chuckle and racing headlong into his usual pleasant round of banter and a hopeless battle of wits with the big headed genius, George's brows creased uncomfortably as he looked down at the files splayed on the table in front of him. Chris cast a sidelong glance at his partner with uncertainty, and then looked up with reluctance to meet the green eyes of the hero standing before him. Both detectives appeared haggard and worn, and looked as if they were about to do something that they had been deeply dreading.

"What? Why is everyone so on edge around here today?" Megamind asked as lightly as he could with a shrug and his hands spread in front of him in a questioning gesture.

After a moment's hesitation, Chris cleared his throat and said, "Megamind, Minion; we have a bit of a problem… "

"Oh, is that all? Just let us know who you need us to round up and we'll have him here in a jiffy!" said the blue man with a chuckle, deliberately making light of the situation and trying to ease the tension a bit.

"Actually, no… I hate to say this, but the problem is with you. We um… need to know where you were around four o'clock this morning, Sir."

Megamind's smile faded instantly as he sat in the chair opposite the detectives, and he asked, "Why, what's going on?"

Chris' eyes narrowed awkwardly as he looked away with an excruciatingly remorseful expression, and he said, "Well, there was a robbery at Metro Savings and Loan this morning, and the security guard on duty witnessed the whole thing. He… uh… he said you were the one who robbed the bank, Sir."

Megamind and Minion both stared dumbfounded with wide eyes at the detectives for several moments as they allowed this morsel of information to sink in. Both had been expecting something like this when they saw the telltale signs that something was wrong, both when Megamind answered Chris' call, and again as they entered the building, but actually hearing the confirmation that their suspicions were right left them momentarily speechless.

Minion, in his protective need to defend his boss, recovered first and said, "He was at the lair, working in the lab with me. Roxanne was there with us, she can vouch for him too."

Megamind immediately piped up, "Come on, you don't really think I'd do something like that, do you? Not anymore… I mean, we all know I was once the best there was at robbing that and _any_ bank in the city, but those days are over. I'm the hero, the _Defender_ now! You know that…"

"Listen, we're not saying we believe that you did it, but we have to try and find out what's going on; that's our job. The eye witness to the robbery said it was you, so we have to question you, that's all there is to it."

"Well you heard Minion; I was just where he said I was, in my lab at the lair with Minion and Roxanne; go ahead and confirm it with her if you need to, she'll agree with everything I just said."

"Ok, we'll check it out… just so it looks like we're doing our job right." Bennett responded, sounding incredibly relieved that for now his friend seemed to be in the clear.

"Exactly what happened last night?" asked Megamind,

Bennett rifled through the files in front of him for a moment, and finding and perusing the sheet of paper he was looking for, he then said, "At about four AM, the security guard said he was walking the floor of the bank and heard odd noises and such, and turned around to find you standing there; he has no idea how you; or… well, whoever it was, got in because there was no indicator from the alarm system that there was a break-in."

"He said you proceeded to kick the crap out of him; and whoever actually did rob the bank did just that; the guy was beaten up pretty badly. He said you then forced him to open the vault, and that you unloaded the bank of as much as you could carry out on your own. That's the last thing he said he could remember, but he must have been knocked out cold by the perp, because they found him unconscious and locked in the vault this morning. He's at Metro General being checked out right now, but it looked like he had a pretty serious concussion when the paramedics hauled him off."

Chris broke in and said, "But we have another issue we need to talk to you about; this is the second time in as many days that there's been a robbery that you've been accused of, and they seem to be escalating each time. Do you have any idea what's going on here, Megamind?"

_Well this is it _though the hero as he glanced at his aquatic sidekick, who looked back at him gravely and gave him a reassuring nod.

He drew in a deep, steadying breath and said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have a pretty good idea as to what's going on. Not a solid understanding, mind you… there are still far too many questions left unanswered for my liking; one of the reasons why I've held on to this information this long. But in light of recent events, it seems quite clear that I need to share what little information I have so you have a better grasp on what's really going on… "

With that, Megamind proceeded to divulge every bit of the information that he had been guarding so closely for days, down to the last miniscule detail. As he explained the situation in the back room at the drug house that night, the expression in the eyes of the detectives alternated from skeptical, to shocked, to fearful.

He then went on to explain the research that Roxanne had done for him, pointing out the similarities in the crimes that he had been falsely accused of in his villainous days to the current mess they found themselves dealing with. He finished his presentation to the officers by pointing out that the recent robberies he had been accused of came directly on the tails of the incident at the drug house that stormy night.

"You see, there was a threat in the look he gave me before he vanished; I _knew_ that wouldn't be the last we'd see of him."

"Okay, well what about Kessler? The coroner's report came back, it said his death was due to his weakened state from his years of drug use." Bennett asked dubiously.

"Was there anything out of the ordinary? Even the smallest detail could be significant."

Chris picked up one of the files on the table and rifled through, saying, "There was one thing, but the doc said, again, that it was probably a result of the type of drugs he used. Where is it… ah, there it is. Okay, it says here that they found an unusually high level of serotonin."

"Do you mind?" Megamind asked as he reached out to take the file from his friend.

"No, go ahead."

Megamind's eyes widened in shock when he read the report, and he looked up sharply at Chris, asking, "Do you have any idea what you're looking at here? It's nearly impossible to get levels this high. You know what this means, right? _Hallucinogens_ cause spikes in the level of serotonin… our new villain seems quite adept at making witnesses _think_ they're seeing _me_ pulling off one of his little escapades."

"And as for there being no way he could have possibly made his way into the room while you gentlemen were standing guard, I _personally_ watched him vanish in a puff of mist. If he can do that, he can make his way in without the need of a door."

The two detectives looked at Megamind, finding themselves at a loss of words. Finally, the silence was broken when Bennett asked, " So what are we supposed to do? Put out an APB for a guy who turns himself into smoke when you get too close? And how are we supposed to give a description of him when he can make himself look like anyone he _wants_ to look like?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous; like I said, that's the reason I kept things quiet for so long… I wanted enough evidence to back up the unbelievable story I had to tell you. But just give them the facts; tell them everything I told you just now, and take the research Roxanne did for me and use it as a support to get the point across. The more they know about the new villain we have lurking around the city, the sooner we'll have him behind bars."

"How are we going to nab him if he turns into a cloud of mist whenever he feels like it?" asked Chris.

"I don't know yet. But if any of the officers happen to have a run in with him, I need to know all about it. Their experiences might just give me the details I need to get to the bottom of this and figure out a way to stop him."

After a moment of quiet as everyone in the room reflected on the situation, Chris spoke up; "Megamind, it would have been better if you had told me about this right away. Yeah, it's a wild story, but you have enough info here to be convincing. The thing is, because you've waited to share this, there are an awful lot of guys right now that are starting to wonder… "

"I know, I saw as much when we were making our way up here to meet with you." Megamind said with an expression of regret. _Damn it, I wish I had listened to them when I had the chance. _

"Hey, don't worry about it. You have your alibi for both robberies, it'll be fine. Once the word gets out there, and George and I will make _sure_ it does, you'll have no problem with the force backing you up on this."

"Thanks," Megamind responded, feeling touched and slightly bolstered at the support he was receiving not just from Chris, but also from Bennett, who was nodding his head in agreement until his chunky cheeks bounced at his partner's promise.

Minion had been listening to the entire exchange, and up to that point one of the worries that had been weighing heavily on his mind had yet to be addressed. He cleared his throat and asked, "Excuse me, but what happens when word gets out to the citizens that Sir is being accused of all these crimes? With his already _colorful_ background, I'm afraid it wouldn't take much to send the city into a panic. How is he supposed to do his hero work when the city thinks he's turning back to being the bad guy?"

Megamind looked stricken as he considered the implications of the entire city in panic mode because they believed that their new hero had once again become the villain. But Chris, immediately seeing his friend's distress, said, "Don't worry, every officer on the force has been strictly ordered to keep quiet and not allow any of this to be leaked to the press. Not a word of it is being released; we're giving out a very generic statement to the news agencies about the robbery last night, and that's how we're going to continue handling it until we catch this guy and have it all wrapped up."

"Well that's a relief!" Minion responded.

Despite Chris' reassurances that the citizens wouldn't find out about the accusations being hurled at him, Megamind knew the mind of a reporter far too well. He had nothing to fear from his Roxanne of course, but there were _other_ reporters out there who, though they may not be as perfectly skilled and astoundingly talented as his beloved, were dripping with nosiness, and were unethical besides; each of them looking for any lead to a story that could push their name into the limelight. All it would take was for one of those reprobates who called themselves journalists to catch a whiff of the mess he was dealing with, and the story would be out, making his job far more difficult and placing the city as a whole in danger. _I've got to find this guy before it's too late…_

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><p>Roxanne walked determinedly through the crowd of officers as they worked the scene of the robbery. Looking for just the right one that would supply her with the missing pieces of information she needed to make her report the go-to broadcast for the citizens in Metro City to get the meat and potatoes of what had happened early that morning at the bank.<p>

As she worked her way through the assembly, she spotted ahead a slightly familiar face... wasn't that the same cop she saw the other night at the old house in Lakewood when she was trying to find her way in closer to the action? Yeah, when he turned around so she had a better view of him, she realized that it certainly was the same guy; the one she told Megamind had looked like such a dim bulb. _Bingo..._

She approached the clueless looking officer confidently, and with a disarming smile she said "Well hi… um, what was your name again?"

When the man heard her address him, he glanced around for a moment, trying to decide whether or not she was speaking to him, and then with a confused expression he turned back to her and said, "Uh; Sergeant Zietz, Austin Zietz… "

"Yeah! That's right… Zietz! It's _great_ to see you again!"

Now the sergeant was really confused; this woman looked incredibly familiar, but he just couldn't quite place her. Did he know her from somewhere? She seemed to know him. Rather than look stupid, he decided to play along. _Besides, she's pretty hot! Maybe with a little smooth talking I can…_

"Funny running into you here, right? And today of all days! Can you believe this?" she said excitedly, motioning with a sweep of her arm at the bank and all the bustle that surrounded it.

Zietz looked her up and down with a greasy smirk that made her want to gag, and then taking a step closer to her he responded with a smarmy tone of voice, "Yeah, it's pretty crazy. You know, I was the first one on the scene when the call came in this morning. I was standing right there when they opened the vault door and found that security guard laying there on the floor all beat to hell, rambling like an idiot."

Roxanne stepped away from him so as to maintain an acceptable distance between them, and with a dramatic gasp she put a hand delicately to her lips and assumed a wide eyed, worried expression. "Oh no! The poor thing! Is he going to be ok?"

The more Zietz looked at her, the more certain he was that he had seen her before, he just wished he could remember where. _Oh well, who cares… she seems to dig my story; just a little more smooth talking… _"I don't know, they said he looked pretty bad; a concussion or something like that. So uh, what about you? It's been a while, what do you think about going…"

"Rambling huh?" Roxanne interrupted him enthusiastically, casting him a charming smile. "So what did he say? This sort of thing is just so exciting… I'm _so_ _curious_!"

The sergeant seemed to be getting caught up in Roxanne's feigned starry eyed inquisitiveness, and in a tone that suggested he was just as impressed with himself as he imagined she was with him, he answered, "Oh, yeah! You know, I'm not supposed to be saying anything, but because it's _you_… You know, that's the craziest part about this whole freak show; he said it was... "

Suddenly Sergeant Zietz stopped in mid breath with wide eyes and his mouth snapped shut; the reason that this woman looked so incredibly familiar to him had just struck him like a bolt of lightening. _Oh my God, this is that reporter, Roxanne Ritchi! I can't believe I almost told her everything!_

His manner instantly changed, and he nervously blurted out the canned response he was told by his superiors under penalty of life and limb to give out if he was approached by a member of the press, "I'm sorry miss, but I'm not at liberty to discuss the nature of this case. A statement has already been issued to all news agencies explaining the facts of the case as we are prepared to release them. No other information will be given out at this time."

When Roxanne heard his response and saw his change in demeanor, she knew the jig was up; for now. If a dimwit like Zietz figured out her charade and refused to fork over the info, it was a pretty good bet the rest of the cops on the scene were even less likely to spill it. Besides, it was almost time for her broadcast, she'd have to settle for the bare bones version right now, and do a little more snooping later on.

"Damn it!" she said under her breath with a huff and a shake of her head, and without a glance back she turned to rush off and find Cody, knowing he probably needed help with the last minute setup necessary to be ready for the broadcast.

As he watched her go, Zietz's thoughts were a mixed bag. He was kicking himself for not noticing right off the bat who it was he was he was talking to and for coming so close to leaking all the details of this sensitive case to a reporter, and not just any reporter. Yeah, he let some of it slip, but the most important tidbit he had managed to keep back from her in the nick of time. Another part of him was incredibly disappointed to find out that the smoldering beauty he was just hitting on was the new hero's girlfriend. _Wait a minute; oh shit… I was just hitting on Megamind's girlfriend! Oh my God please don't let him find out! _

* * *

><p>When Cody indicated that the camera was rolling, Roxanne put on her most professional demeanor and began, "Good morning Metro City. Early this morning a robbery was reported at Metro Savings and Loan, the crook making off with an undisclosed sum of money from the safe."<p>

"The crime was reported by the morning security staff when they reported for duty. A security guard was in the building at the time of the robbery and was an eye witness to the crime, but no description of the perpetrator has been made available to the press at this time. There are unconfirmed reports that the guard was injured during the robbery, and that he is currently being treated at Metro General."

"As always, KMCP will continue to cover this story as information is uncovered. Be sure to stay tuned for the latest developments in this case. This is Roxanne Ritchi, reporting live from outside Metro Savings and Loan."

When Roxanne gave the cut signal, Cody stopped recording and said, "First rate as always. And once again you have more info in that one little report than _any_ of the other stations… how'd you get so fantastic, anyway?"

"Oh come on, stop it." Roxanne said as she turned around to survey the scene of officers milling around the entrance of the building, coming and going as they wrapped up their work and prepared to allow the bank to open for business. "It really wasn't that great. I wasn't able to get the whole spiel out of that cop I talked to; he figured out who I was before he spilled the rest of the story. I guess I must be a little off today."

"Well you still got enough out of him to make your report the talk of the town; no worries Rox. You did great!" Cody responded as he checked his equipment and began to set up for the next broadcast.

"I don't know Cody, I'm feeling a little overshadowed by my cameraman here. The place you have us set up is brilliant! Look at that, you practically have us right by the front door. What a fantastic backdrop to my report!" she said as she watched the cops exiting the front entrance, packing out their equipment and discussing the case with one another in hushed tones. She was actually rather surprised they hadn't been asked to pack up and move considering the way they were guarding the details of this case so closely.

Just as she was about to tell Cody she was heading out to do a little more digging for details for the next broadcast, she just barely caught the mention of the name she adored most coming from one of the officers that had just stepped outside. Her first thought was that he was talking about how Megamind would handle the case if he were on the scene, or possibly that he was on his way over to lend a hand.

With that excited flutter she always felt at the thought of getting to see her hero in action, she nonchalantly took a few steps closer to the officer and his companion as they walked by, hoping to catch a word or two of their conversation. Despite the fact that they were speaking in low voices, they were just loud enough for Roxanne to hear bits and pieces of their conversation over the din of the other cops at work, and the little that she heard made her stomach knot with worry.

"… believe… Megamind… do this… "

_No, I must have heard him wrong._

The other officer began to respond, and again all she was able to hear was snippets of the conversation, but it was enough to stop her heart. "… saw him… identified… without a doubt… "

Without caring about the fact that she was barging in on a confidential discussion between police officers about a sensitive case, Roxanne turned and ran to the two cops, reaching out and grabbing hold of the arm of the one whom she had heard speaking first, demanding fiercely, "What did you just say?"

The two gentlemen looked at her with shock as she glared back and forth between them icily, her blue eyes challenging them to dare to refuse to answer. Uncomfortably, they glanced at one another, silently kicking themselves for discussing the situation so carelessly within earshot of the reporter and opening this can of worms. They knew exactly who this was, and felt a sense of guilt for the fact that she had to find out about what had happened in such a tactless way.

"Listen, Miss Ritchi. You know we're not supposed to release any information to the press… "

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it. Did I just hear you say it was _Megamind_ that did this, that he was _identified without a doubt_?"

_She already heard everything, I might as well tell her. _The officer whose arm she grasped cleared his throat, and with an immensely regretful expression, said, "The witness was doing an awful lot of rambling, so it is possible that he was confused… it could have been that head injury talking, you never know. We still have all of our follow up work to do to see if his story checks out; but yes, I'm sorry Miss Ritchi, he did say… "

Roxanne's stomach clenched and her heart lurched as she heard the direction the officer was taking this, and without even letting him finish she turned and walked away, her eyes focused on the news van ahead and oblivious to the rest of her surroundings. As she strode ahead making every effort to stifle her emotions and appear calm to the crowd of people around her, she replayed in her mind the broken pieces of conversation she heard, and the cops admission that Megamind had indeed been blamed for yet another crime.

As she passed by Cody, he looked up just in time to see the wounded expression on her usually confident face, and he called out, "Hey Rox, is everything ok?"

Without any indication that she had heard his question or even noticed that he was there, she continued on ahead quickly toward the van.

_What the heck… _"Roxanne?" he called again in a worried tone, and then watched her with a puzzled look in his eyes as she passed him by without a word.

Reaching her destination, she climbed quickly into the driver's seat of the van and slammed the door behind her, blocking out some of the noise and bustle of the world around her. She covered her face with slightly shaking hands, taking comfort in the relative darkness and solitude they provided, and felt tears begin to prickle her eyes as she squeezed them shut tight. She forced herself to take slow, deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself, trying to wrestle away the panic that threatened to overtake her.

When she felt steadier, she slid her hands down a bit to cover her mouth and stared sightlessly at the steering wheel as she shook her head slowly, not wanting to allow herself to accept what she had just learned. She simply couldn't believe it; it couldn't be happening again, could it? And not so soon, it just _couldn't _be possible. But it was. She felt a cold knot begin to form in her chest as the realization slowly began to sink in that the _one_ thing she had begun to fear more than anything else had come back again to haunt the man she loved.

* * *

><p><strong>I have a <strong>_**few**_** notes… ;)**

**First, Fanfic has been **_**terrible**_** about not listing this story as recently updated on the archive. (It's happened three times in a row! Grrr!) It might be a good idea for you to just to check in every now and then to see if I've posted a new chapter since the site isn't listing the updates properly, that way you'll be sure to catch the new installments when I get them up.**

**Second, I know next to nothing about the way hallucinogenic drugs actually work on the body; the little bit of info I've woven into the story here I spent an afternoon researching online to find out, and it's such a complicated subject I still didn't really understand it. From what I gathered, even the experts that study this don't understand it completely. For the sake of the story, we'll use our imaginations and just pretend that it works the way Megamind explained it, even if I got it wrong, ok? Thanks X6! :)**

**Please… review, review, review?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Back again after a long break with a few things to thicken the plot, and some more mischief from our villain! Thanks so much for coming back everyone! :)**

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><p>Craig McMurray sat at his mahogany desk in Metro City Hall, looking out his expansive window at the view of the man made lake, and the Megamind Museum just beyond it. The view from his office used to be a beautiful, majestic sight to behold, but now it irked him.<p>

He thought back to the once proud statue of their former hero that had graced the city center for such a short time, only to be blown to smithereens, and then replaced by the likeness of the villain that had destroyed it. What was wrong with the people of this city? They were a bunch of sheep, all of them. They'd follow anyone, and apparently believe anything as long as the lies were told to them with enough _presentation_.

In Craig's eyes, the idea that the once hated, evil genius that had terrorized Metro City and cost the citizens millions of dollars in damages had changed his ways was ridiculous. Allowing the villain to suddenly be hailed and regaled as the city's resident hero was tantamount to insanity, and giving him his own museum on the very spot that had once boasted the Metro Man Museum in all it's glory was a disgrace to the city, and the hero who had once protected it. But worst of all was the fact that Megamind had made him personally look like a fool hundreds of times with his disregard for the law and his frequent escapes from prison, reducing all the hard work that he had put into trying to keep him behind bars to time wasted.

To anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence, this was unforgivable. But apparently, the district attorney stewed as he stared at the big headed statue that mocked him silently in the distance, intelligence was something that was hard to come by in this city. He seemed to be the only one left with enough of a head on his shoulders to see through the supposed _"hero's"_ charade.

His jaw twitched as he sat grinding his teeth, glowering at the expensive tribute to the worst villain his city had ever known and giving his mind free reign to wander over territory that he typically didn't allow it to tread. Six months ago, when Megamind had first pulled off his most elaborate scheme to date and duped the entire populace, he had been one of the few voices of reason to speak up in defense of justice. He had repeatedly warned the mayor and the other city officials, not to mention that press conference in which he had eloquently appealed to the citizens, warning them that no matter what he said or how convincingly he said it, the tricky villain was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He was biding his time, lulling the whole city into a false sense of security so he could pull off a new atrocity that would top every other wicked scheme they had ever seen.

But did they listen to his warnings? Noooo, he had been ridiculed and even laughed at for his caution and good sense. The citizens of Metro City had already bought into his lies and embraced Megamind as their hero; all his warnings seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

After months of repeating his advise to the city to proceed with caution where the new hero was concerned and watching his ratings in the polls drop because of his nay saying, the district attorney finally gave up. If the people of this city didn't want to listen to the voice of reason, then he was willing to play the waiting game... he knew it was only a matter of time before the blue devil started up with his old tricks again, and he was going to be there when he did.

He had bided his time, waiting for the right opportunity to expose his lies for what the were and knock the new "Defender of Metro City" off his pedestal, and now it looked as though his patience was finally paying off. Moments ago, he had received a call from an old friend on the force who had mentioned to him in confidence that rumors were beginning to surface that Megamind had indeed begun to slip back into his life of evil. Albeit, there was very little information available about the recent incidents that were rumored to have been the handiwork of the alien; the cops were keeping a very tight lid on it all, but just knowing that the villain's true colors were beginning to show again was enough for him.

His icy blue eyes narrowed, and a pinched smile wormed it's way across his thin lips as he continued to glare at the statue across the lake. It wouldn't be long now, and the whole city would know the truth. Once the tide of popular opinion began to shift toward his way of thinking when they all realized that he had been right all along, it would be easy to use the weight of his position to pressure the right people into putting that blue freak right back where he belongs.

Maybe he could even pull strings to have the criminal transferred to another high security prison entirely, as far away from Metro City as possible. And the fish... he'd have to do something about that damn fish too; it couldn't help it's boss escape if it was locked up in a zoo, or a science lab somewhere.

Swiveling his chair around toward his desk with a sense of satisfaction that he hadn't experienced in months, Craig pulled his phone from his pocket and began dialing the first number on his contact list. After two rings, a nasally voice abruptly answered.

"Steven Blythe... "

"Steve, it's Craig."

"Good morning Sir, what can I do for you?"

"You remember that business a few months back, don't you? My pet project that I decided to put on the back burner and let simmer until the time was right?"

"How could I forget?" answered the district attorney's personal assistant, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. There's no way he could ever forget the way his boss obsessively clung to the idea that Megamind was still evil, despite the fact that it was painfully obvious he had renounced his old ways and was making a name for himself as an even more beloved hero than Metro Man had ever been.

"Well it looks like that simmer is about to hit a full boil; a friend on the force told me there are whisperings in the PD that he's at it again."

This was the first Steven had heard of it; if that was true, the PD was doing a bang-up job keeping it under wraps. As far as he knew, the new defender was doing a fantastic job, but despite his doubt his curiosity was aroused at his employer's cryptic words. With a barely disguised tone of skepticism, he asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't have any details; all I know is that there's a rumor that he's taken a turn for the worst, just as we expected."

_Just as YOU expected... _"What do you want me to do? There's not a lot that _can_ be done without enough details to give proof, Sir. We've tried that before with disastrous results for your popularity. The people love him; the only way that's going to change is if he's caught red handed stirring up trouble again."

"Well, you know I want to keep my name as far away from this as possible, so I want you to use your resources to find one of our finest who has intimate details about what our new defender has been up to and would be willing to blow the whistle on him; to expose all his dirty little secrets to the press. The citizens have a right to know."

Hearing Craig's plan explained to him as his employer began to dig deep within his bag of tricks made Steven feel incredibly uncomfortable, and he instantly began to try and come up with a way to convince his boss to leave him out of it. He had no problem with doing the dirty work from time to time as long as it was for a good cause and no one was hurt; he had in fact participated many times in the odd underhanded deed at the DA's request. But the idea of going head to head with Megamind, who was quickly becoming the most celebrated, loved, respected, and feared hero Metro City had ever seen was insanity, and he had no desire to get involved. Throwing your lot in with the idiot who was crazy enough to do that was just begging to get burned.

On the other hand, holding out long enough might just be worth a little something to him. Sticking his nose in this business wasn't something he wanted to be a part of, but everyone had their price...

"What about your friend, the guy who told you about the rumors to begin with? Why don't you ask _him_ to take it to the press... I just don't want to a part of this one, Sir"

Craig had been expecting this. Of course, he could certainly take care of this on his own, but he didn't want his name to be associated with the leaking of this story to the news; that sort of thing didn't look good in the eyes of the public. Steven was the best assistant he had ever employed and had a knack for putting out feelers and finding anyone willing to help the DA in one of his pet projects, and keeping the knowledge of that association out of the limelight. But along with that talent came the tendency to hang back at times where the tasks required of him included stepping out of the comfortable bubble imposed upon him by his conscience, and by a healthy sense of self preservation. When it all boiled down to the bare facts, despite his employee's reluctance to get involved, he needed his help to make his plan a reality. It was a good thing the district attorney knew how to work his way around those little hang ups...

With a deep sigh, he said, "No Steve, I can't ask that of my friend. He's an old fashioned guy, and what he told me was a private conversation between friends. He would consider a request like that to be a betrayal of his confidence."

After a moment he continued in a placating tone, "Hey, I understand where you're coming from in this, I really do. Taking on Megamind isn't something for the faint of heart. But consider this for a moment, we've been entrusted with an important job in keeping dangerous criminals behind bars; the safety of the people of this city rests on our shoulders."

"Unfortunately, as you well know, the system we use to accomplish that goal doesn't always work, and at times those criminals walk free. There's never been a better example of that than what we're talking about right now. In situations like this it's our_ responsibility_ to use whatever means necessary to work the system and make sure that those criminals are put right back where they belong... for the safety of the citizens. It's for the greater good, Steve. I need your help to make this happen, the people of this city need your help... "

The DA waited patiently, allowing his eloquent words to sink in and hoping it had been more than enough to pull his reluctant assistant into helping him, but the only response he received from the other end of the line was a strained silence. _Damn! Time to play a little hard ball..._

"Listen, you've worked for me for a long time and have always given me nothing but exemplary service; it's high time I show you my appreciation for that. I'll tell you what, the Holidays are coming up... you do this for me, and I'll make sure you get yourself a nice bonus."

At the mention of money, the assistant's hesitation to be included in his employer's scheme began to evaporate in an instant. He quickly responded in a shrewd voice, "Bonus... how much?"

_Got him..._ "Well, let me just say you won't be disappointed... "

After another moment of thoughtful silence, Steven answered, "Alright, but you know it's not going to be easy finding anyone willing to stick their neck out under these circumstances."

"Excellent! I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking! Now, if you do happen to find that the right man for the job is reluctant to get involved, which would be completely understandable considering what we're asking him to do, feel free to let him know that his brave act of service to his fellow citizens comes with compensation. Every hero deserves to be rewarded for his courage."

Steven nodded silently to himself; he knew how his boss did things, and could see this coming from a mile away. "I understand Sir. Consider it done."

"Thank you, Steve! You're doing the right thing; the people of this city owe you a great debt of gratitude."

When the call ended, Craig placed his phone on the table top and slowly turned his leather chair toward the hated statue in the distance, a cold grin of satisfaction spreading across his arrogant face. _All those months of waiting around, watching Megamind and his stupid little pet being treated like royalty, while he makes me look like a moron. Well, now it looks like the tables have turned. Let's see how quickly things change for him when all of his adoring fans find out the truth... _

* * *

><p>It was late compared to his usual hours when the young man came home, exhausted after a long, trying, and stressful day. Opening the door and stepping into his dark apartment, he quickly relocked the dead bolts. You could never be too careful, and things had been getting a bit strange in Metro City lately; a little extra caution was certainly in order.<p>

Dropping his keys onto his kitchen counter, he didn't even bother to turn on the lights as he shuffled his tired feet to the couch and flopped down with a plop. His exhaustion was so complete, every square inch of him felt drained. Even lifting his arm to pick up the remote was a chore. He felt limp, like jelly. He should go to bed, but who could sleep without a little TV to relax with first?_ I'll just see what's on, then I'm hitting the hay. _

Pressing the button and settling in as his flat screen flared to life, the young man slid down just far enough to rest his head comfortably on the back of the couch. He wasn't going to fall asleep here. Nope. He was only going to watch for a little while. No matter how heavy his eyelids were becoming, sleeping in his clothes in front of the TV wasn't an option.

Putting in a stellar effort to focus his attention on the programming, he was disappointed to see that the TV was set to channel 8, the evening news broadcast recapping the days top stories. He was all too familiar with the main focus of attention, the whole city was abuzz about the strange robbery at the Savings and Loan this morning. He was so tired of hearing about it he wanted to gag, but the effort of lifting his finger to push the button required to switch stations proved too daunting a task for him in his weary state, so he settled in resolutely to watch the end of the segment.

There was Roxanne Ritchi, her live morning broadcast being replayed again. Even though it was now eight o'clock in the evening, it seemed her well known natural talent for rooting out details had provided more information in that one little clip than any of the other stations had been able to gather in a full day of trying to compete.

Everyone was talking about it, there just seemed to be a vacuum where information about that robbery was concerned. No other station had been able to get a morsel beyond the statement that the police had released early that morning. No one but her. No _wonder_ she was famous for being the best in the city... and wow, that shot of her standing in front of the bank's entrance with the cops carrying out all their equipment was pretty great too.

As he slouched in his comfortable spot on the couch, his eyes grew heavier by the second despite his attempts to keep them propped open. No... he refused to fall asleep here. Every time he did that he woke up the next morning feeling like death warmed over, his head aching from lack of a truly restful sleep, not to mention that scummy feeling he couldn't shake the rest of the day from sleeping in his clothes. Not even a shower and strong coffee could make that feeling relinquish its hold on him.

He sat up straighter and shook his head, trying to convince his eyes to stay open with the quick movement. Well, maybe he should just skip watching TV for tonight. Who cares if it was only eight, his bed was sounding pretty amazing right about now. Yeah, he really should just get up and go to sleep. And that's just what he was going to do... right after he went ahead and rested his eyes for just a second.

* * *

><p>The young man was roused slowly from sleep by an odd feeling, the kind of feeling you get when waking from a nightmare. His heart was racing and a feeling of adrenaline tightened his chest and seemed to course through his veins. Funny thing was, he didn't remember a nightmare; he didn't remember any dreams at all as a matter of fact. Without any dreams to prompt it, why in the world did he feel like this?<p>

Maybe he _had_ dreamed, but the memory of it had slipped away as he began to wake, the way dreams sometimes do. If that was the case, he was glad he couldn't remember it. Judging by the way he felt right now, it must have been quite a nightmare.

Trying to ignore the inexplicable feeling of fear, he straightened himself and opened his eyes, stretching his back and moving his head from side to side to work the kinks out of his neck. He had gone and done it, fallen asleep in front of the TV in his clothes, just like he had promised himself he_ wasn't_ going to do. And he had fallen asleep sitting up no less, with his head tipped to the side and his mouth apparently hanging wide open judging by the dry, pasty feeling on his tongue. Yep, he was going to feel like crap in the morning.

How long had he been out anyway? Rubbing his eyes, he turned to look at the clock in his kitchen... 10:42pm. Ugh, nearly three hours of sleeping like this! He dreaded hearing that alarm clock going off in the morning, that wasn't going to be much fun.

With a stretch and a yawn, he clumsily reached for the remote and turned off the TV, but when he did, he froze. What was that? Just quiet enough that his ears were barely able to register it, he heard a sound.

Immediately his heart began it's race again as his adrenaline kicked in a second shot. Whatever that was, it was so quiet he couldn't quite figure out what kind of sound it was that he was hearing. His imagination told him it could have been the hushed breath of someone who didn't belong there, or the quiet shuffle of a shoe as it slid across the floor; maybe even the swish of the fabric of a pair of pants as its owner crept closer to its only possible target. No matter how he looked at it, none of the possible scenarios were good. That had to be a _bad_ sound.

Too afraid to turn and face his fear full on, but too afraid to sit and wait for it to come and find him, he turned his eyes slowly toward the general direction that the noise seemed to have come from. When his eyes had moved in their sockets as far as they were able, his head followed suit as he scanned the room. Nothing. Not a thing; he was as alone in the room as he had been when he had fallen asleep.

As he allowed the realization to settle in that he wasn't being pursued by some visitor from his forgotten nightmare, he let out a rush of pent up breath. He hadn't even realized he had been holding his breath to begin with. Shaking his head and snorting a laugh at his own jumpiness, the young man stood with a final stretch, ready to jump in bed and finish his night's sleep in dreamless comfort rather than propped up uncomfortably on the couch.

Passing the kitchen as he sleepily headed for the hallway, he suddenly had the distinct impression that he wasn't alone. His pulse began to quicken once again and his chest knotted with anxiety as his head reflexively snapped toward the open space. He half expected to find a dark form watching him as he moved along, but just as before, no one was there. _Whoa, that must have been some dream…_

He stood for a moment longer as his heart continued to race, his eyes poring over every inch of the kitchen until he was reasonably satisfied that he was alone. He _could_ turn on the light to do a more thorough inspection, but that would mean walking past the kitchen again in the dark, something he didn't relish the idea of doing. Besides, he was on the sixth floor and he had locked all of the deadbolts securely before passing out on the couch... there was no way anyone could have gotten inside.

Deciding at last that this whole situation was nothing more than a case of an overactive imagination, he reluctantly turned to finish his trek to bed. He couldn't get over how much he had been effected by a dream that he couldn't even remember having. His nerves were still so raw, it took every ounce of his courage to keep himself from flat out running down the hall, slamming his bedroom door behind him and securing it with the lock, not to mention a few pieces of well chosen, heavy furniture that he could slide into place to block the door.

No matter how much he tried to tell himself that he was alone and safe and that this was all just a reaction to a dream, he couldn't escape the feeling that he was being watched. That someone was just behind him and drawing closer with every step he took, reaching out cold hands to lay on his shoulders and...

_Stop it! Shut up, idiot! There's no one here, and no where anyone could have hidden without you seeing them right away. You're..._

"Howdy-do, friend." came a voice from behind him, close to his right ear. As the deep, creaking voice spoke, the young man nearly jumped out of his skin and frantically spun around, backing away and searching the area that the voice seemed to have come from.

As his eyes scrutinized the darkness, he was shocked and terrified when he realized that he still seemed to be alone. He knew without a doubt he had heard a voice, and at the moment couldn't decide which was more frightening; hearing the voice of an intruder and seeing him standing menacingly before you, or hearing his voice and turning to find that you are standing by yourself but knowing he's there, lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Knowing he couldn't stand there doing nothing all night, waiting to meet his uninvited visitor face to face, he swallowed, and summoning up his courage he called out weakly in a shaky voice, "Who's here?"

"Oh, no one special. Just a fellow citizen who seems to have suddenly taken up a vested interest in you, and thought it might be beneficial to pay you a visit."

The disembodied words continued to come from the general area that it had the first time he had heard it, but no matter how hard the young man strained his eyes in the darkness, he couldn't see the intruder; couldn't even make out a dim and blurry outline in the darkness. The voice that spoke out to him was unlike any had ever heard before, cold and empty and creaking... the image that immediately and ridiculously flashed through his mind when he heard it was that of a dead, knobby tree as it's boughs were pushed by the wind as it whipped through a graveyard. He shuddered.

"Where are you? I can't see you. And what do you want with _me_? I don't have anything, I'm nobody." he said in a panic.

An odd noise emanated from the darkness that sounded strangely like laughter, sending a chill down the young man's back as he retreated a few more steps into the wall behind him.

"Oops, my mistake. My manners can be atrocious at times." the voice responded icily, and then, as he watched in horror, two tiny red pinpoints appeared out of the darkness. They were about eye level and set just far enough apart to pass for eyes to a wild or overactive imagination. The oddest thing about it was that they didn't simply appear, they seemed to turn toward him, as though the bodiless owner of these _eyes_ had been facing away from him, and then spun slowly in his direction to take him in at his request.

As soon as the red eyes became visible to him, he began to make out a dim form taking shape to go along with them; tall and lanky and menacing. Amidst his fear, the young man fleetingly wondered how the intruder's eyes could possibly reflect that strange red light so brightly in a room with no light source shining to cause a reflection to begin with.

Despite the fact that his mind was screaming at him to turn and run and his heart was pounding a mile a minute, he found that he was unable to move. He stood frozen in place, watching in fascinated terror as the shape of a stranger began to develop out of nowhere before his eyes. The only thought that ran through is mind as the scene played out before him was, _This has got to be a dream and I just haven't woken up yet. I'm still in the middle of my nightmare... that explains everything._

After a moment, the visitor seemed to have fully materialized, his form no longer dull or hazy but dense and substantial. He stood staring, his pinpoint eyes glowing at the young man in the darkness like red hot embers in a fire, and then the empty voice spoke again.

"Now as for your assertion that you have nothing of value to me, I'm afraid I must beg to differ with you on that. You should have more faith in yourself, my friend... you have access to something of immense value to me, and I want you to help me to get it."

"What?"

"Information."

The young man's brows wrinkled with confusion; he didn't have any information... he was practically a kid, what did he know? The only information rolling around in his brain was useless movie trivia and release dates for the newest video games that were set to come out, and possibly a few tricks of the trade for his line of work, but he had a sneaking suspicion that wasn't the type of information this character was after.

"What do you mean, information?"

Out of the darkness came a tisk-tisking sound, as though the intruder was clucking his tongue in disappointment at his response, and then he said, "Now that's a shame. After observing your brilliant work, I assumed I would be dealing with a much more astute individual; I'm disappointed to find I was wrong. Let me break it down for you; you have access to information about Megamind, information I want. You're going to give it to me. Simple as that."

"What do you mean I have access to information about_ Megamind? _What makes you think that?"

"You know him, he trusts you."

"He doesn't tell me anything important. I don't even know him that well, I only know him because... "

With an air of impatience, the intruder began to cross the room with a fluid stride and said, "All you have to do is keep your ears open. I'll check in with you, and you'll tell me any little tidbits of information about his hunt for the new villain in town that you pick up on as the day goes by."

The young man mulled over the idea of trying to tag along with Megamind, asking him nosey and out of the ordinary questions about things that were absolutely none of his business, and he knew the hero would be on to him in seconds flat. There was no putting anything over on a guy with a brain that big. Besides, this freak obviously had bad intentions, and he didn't want to be part of anything that could possibly do damage to the man he had come to admire and think of as a friend.

Then another thought occurred to him, what would Megamind do if he found out that he had been passing information to someone who would likely use it for evil, maybe even to hurt the people, or the fish, closest to him? Despite the kind, friendly, fun loving side that he had shown to be his true nature over the past months, there was no doubt that in a situation that threatened those that he loved, a much more dangerous side had the potential to present itself, and he didn't want to be the one to bring that out of him. Suddenly he wasn't so sure which would be worse; the idea of dealing with the monster who had invaded his apartment, or dealing with the furious former villain as he tapped into his knack for using all the objects of mayhem that still sat unused and waiting in corners and shadows throughout the lair.

Suddenly in a panic at the quandary he found himself embroiled in, the young man stammered, "I can't! Really, he won't tell me anything! I don't even see him all that... "

Suddenly, the uninvited visitor crossed the last few feet that remained between him and his quarry and reached out with shocking speed to grab the young man's shirt front in his balled up fist, lifting him easily an inch or two off the floor. As he had approached, he had stepped out of the shadowy kitchen into the pale cast of the city's night lights as they poured in through the apartment windows, and revealed a scene that would haunt the young man's memory for the rest of his days; a skeletal face wrapped in grayish skin that was stretched tight and sunken, revealing every detail of the structures lying beneath. He could now see that those dark eyes which had seemed to reflect that strange red light were actually glowing of their own accord from deep within, and were currently glaring at him with a look of unbridled hatred.

"Refusal is not an option. You _will_ provide me with the information I need. You can choose to participate willingly and stay in my good graces, or we can do this the hard way. Might I suggest you cooperate... it always makes things so much easier."

The young man dangled from the grip of his unwelcome guest, his resistance to the thought of betraying the new hero, not to mention his terror in the face of the monster that gripped him so complete, he found it impossible to force his mind to fully absorb the situation or to form the words to answer.

After a moment, the intruder went on, his empty voice a model of feigned patience. "I can see it may take a little incentive to secure your cooperation in this, so I'll tell you what… you give me information, I'll let your sister live."

Sister? At the mention of his sister, the young man's scattered mind honed into sharp focus. How did he know about his sister?

"Karli?"

"Why yes! Dear, lost little Karli Robinson. Now, how long has it been since you've last seen her? Quite some time, isn't it?"

Suddenly, the young man's protective nature awoke like a bear from hibernation, and he thrashed and struggled in the grasp of his assailant, all fear forgotten.

"Where the hell is she you _bastard!_ What did you do to her?"

In an instant, the youth's resistance was squelched as the stranger shoved him hard into the wall, pinning him with his arm across his chest and his fist at his throat. "Shut up! Calm yourself, friend; there's no need to get testy. Little sis will be just fine as long as you agree to work with me."

Despite being restrained and unable to struggle, his anger at the thought that this freak may have information about his missing sister and was using it against him fanned the flames of anger in his heart. Without thought as to what might happen to him if he continued to mouth off to the monster that held him, he demanded, "How do I know it's her? Robinson... that's not even her name. And if it is her how do I even know that you have a clue where she is... _no one_ knows where she is! She's been missing for over a year!"

With a resigned sigh, the stranger's gleaming crimson eyes changed slightly to a longsuffering expression. Without loosening his grip on his captive, he said in a mock sympathetic voice, "Names can be changed, surely you know that. Now, do you recall several nights ago, the_ shocking_ situation that took place in a rather seedy part of town involving a certain house of ill repute? It was all over the news... in fact, you were there that night, I believe. Such a tragic story."

The young man's eyes grew wide as his assailant's story began to piece itself together in his mind. There had been a girl there, no one had been able to find out who her family was...

"Ahh, I see the light is beginning to come on. You remember, don't you? Well, you see friend, I was there. That whole situation was a piece of_ my_ handiwork. With the help of a... _former_ associate, I shared one of my little cocktails with your sister, and that was the beginning of this fun game I find myself in the midst of with our new hero... "

"Please, don't hurt her!" the young man interrupted, his voice trembling with worry as he spoke.

"Oh no, I have no intention of laying a hand on her, as long as I can be certain of your cooperation... "

"I'll do whatever you want me to, just leave her alone!"

Another chilling laugh escaped the villain as he abruptly released his hold on the youth's shirt, sending him tumbling to the floor. "I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking. Now, if you find yourself having difficulty convincing Megamind to confide in you, get creative! There are ample opportunities to glean information from those he's close to. I don't _care_ how you get the information, just get it. I'll be back to check up on you, friend. If I'm not satisfied with what you have to offer, the tragic fate of my former associate will pale in comparison to the special treat I have in store for your dear little sis."

Listening as the monster hurled threats at him, the young man was unable to contain his anger when he thought of his long missing sister in that house, and what she must have gone through. He climbed shakily to his feet and spat, "Oh my God, you're a freaking _psycho!"_

The villain reached out a bony hand, causing him to cringe and recoil against the wall and roughly patted him on the cheek, saying conspiratorially in a hushed voice, "Why yes... I am. Such a descriptive word, and so _fitting_ for my personality. One of the reasons why I've always thought it made such a wonderful moniker. My, my; you're much more astute than I thought."

And with that he was gone; vanished in an instant, leaving the young man standing petrified and weak-kneed against his wall, half wondering if what he had just seen had been real, or just another part of a very vivid and terrifying dream.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow! Poor Megs, he certainly has his hands full... but our Hero is up to the task! He can handle anything, right? No worries!<strong>

**The _mystery_ character in that last section will be revealed later on in the story... hang tight guys. Hope you'll keep coming back to find out who it is! :)**

**Anyone have a guess who the villain is yet? I know some of you have already figured it out, but if not and you caught the clue he left about his identity, send me a private message and tell me who you think it is! This could be fun!**

**Thank you for reading, and _please_ _review_? I tend to be sensetive and I need lots of encouragement from you guys to keep the chapters coming. Thank you so much!**

**And please find my new page on Facebook... it's such a great way to keep in contact with all of you and give updates on how the stories are coming along. Hope to see you there!**

**Here's the link...**

** Sapphiregirl93?ref=hl**


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